The Black Sheep of Kururugi
by Everyone Like Me
Summary: The tale of the Cursed Mask takes on Kururugi Keiame. Unlike her counterparts, she is sarcastic, arrogant, and apparently a bit stoned. Join this Kururugi on her quest with the tards of feudal Japan. Crack pairings and pure hilarity. May feature epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

Kururugi girl was not happy the moment. There was a fellow student next to her. The ignorant person had begun talking as soon as the bus started moving. Not only had she been talking nonstop, but her wild gestures were a bit annoying. At the moment, she was listing off other people who had been paired up. The girl even had the nerve to state that she was the only one without a boyfriend. That is when Kururugi girl lost it. How the heck did she know that? And so _what_ if it was true? She opened her mouth, turning to the girl. She sucked in a breath before speaking. "Who the hell are you, and why are you talking to me?" The stranger had the nerve to look offended. She sported an embarrassed flush as she stuttered out a reply.

"How can you say that? We've been friends since elementary!"

"Do you even have a name?"

"You see, this is why you don't have a boyfriend! You're too impudent and selfish, Keiame!"

"I don't see what that has to do with this situation."

Keiame felt the bus slow to a stop. She looked out the window. Just a few more stops and she would be home and away from this delusional lunatic. Friends…? Keiame scoffed a bit. They must have a pretty distance friendship if she didn't know the girl's name. Hell, she was still trying to figure out how the stranger knew _her_ name. Sure they went to the same school and took the same bus home, but that was no excuse. Keiame was starting to feel intense stalker vibes from the girl beside her.

"Hello…! Are you paying attention to me!"

"Now why would I do a thing like that?"

The girl's eyebrows knitted together, obviously infuriated. Yeah—Keiame had a knack for ticking people off. She mentally shrugged her shoulders. It was a habit, really. She could not help herself sometimes. Other times… it was pretty funny. Suddenly, she found herself being pushed forcefully off the bus. The crazy girl had actually used violence against her! "That's what you get for ignoring me! _Bleh_!" She stuck her tongue out and pulled at the skin under her eye. Keiame watched in horror as the bus doors closed, and then sped off. She gapped in shock, only to start coughing hysterically. The public transportation had been so kind to leave her in a cloud of black, stinky-smelling smoke.

Once her coughing fit had subsided, Keiame stood up. Livid, she raised her middle finger at the departing shuttle. "You penis-loving whore…!" She cried out. "I hope you get gang-banged!" The teen swore under her breath, and then sighed heavily. She was nowhere near her home. On top of that, she didn't have enough money for another ride. "Damn it! I hate running!" Her shout echoed throughout the area, causing spectators to steer clear of her. Despite her hatred of physical activity, Keiame began jogging to her home.

What would have taken about five minutes to reach home on the bus, took nearly forty-five minutes on foot. Keiame panted heavily, nearly out of it by now. She was going to make sure that crazy girl was paid in full for making Keiame exert herself. The teen wiped the sweat from her forehead as she rested against a pillar. That is when she noticed the abundance of people moving around. She raised a brow. "Oh crap…" she murmured. The people were wearing kimonos. The festival was _today_! "Dad's gonna kill me!" Her groan caused heads to turn in curiosity. However, Keiame ignored them and continued on. Her father was going to freak if he caught her still in her uniform. Perhaps if she darted around, humming James Bond theme music, then her father would not catch her.

"Keiame…!"

"Shit!"

Her shoulders hunched, hearing the familiar stern tone of her father. She slowly turned toward the man. He was already in his traditional kimono. She grinned nervously, anticipating a bop on the head. "Where have you been this whole time!" Contrary to his irritated scowl, Keiame knew that he only worried. He was quite the doting parent. If anything happened to her, she wouldn't be surprised to hear he went to jail for murder. He was ultimately the reason she was so spoiled. Her mother was the same… with the added bonus of sarcastic humor. Keiame decided that her mother was the _real_ reason people avoided her. Friends—who needs them?

"Some crazy stalker pushed me off the bus, so I had to run here."

"Stalker?" Her father was reaching for his concealed—fake—dagger.

"_Ah_, anyway, I'm gonna go change now!" Keiame turned to her, but her father called out to her. He wanted her to fetch some supplies for the festival that _he_ forgot to bring out. "What? You want me to go into the _dark_ tool shed?" He calmly corrected her. "Oh, my bad, I totally meant the storage house." Her father ignored her voice, which was dripping in sarcasm. He then commanded that she do as told. Huffing, Keiame walked on. "Isn't this just awesome…"

Her grumbles continued as she opened the door to the _storage house_. As she thought, it was pretty dark. Luckily, the setting sun did aid her in seeing what was in front of her. "I should've brought a flashlight… and if a friggin spider gets on me..." Keiame set her bag near the door before continuing onward. The floor creaked underneath her as she moved. "How old is this bit—_aahh_!" Her foot unceremoniously went through the floor. Hacking the dust from her lungs, Keiame put her weight on the surrounding wood. "Well, isn't this just my perfect da—_aaaaahhhhhhh_!" The wood broke again, causing her to fall completely through. Her eyes widen in bemusement. All around her were sparkles. The world around her had become of void of blue, purple, and black. "Okay, that is the _last_ time I try pot!"

Her shout was lost to her ears as she fell through the abyss.

0~0

Keiame slowly opened her eyes. The sun unyielding rays blinded her for a moment. She blinked several times before sitting up. "What the hell?" Her eyes moved to and fro, trying to figure out where she was. "Am I in a forest? What happened to the tool shed?" The teen stood up. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was far from home. Her brow twitched in annoyance. "I'm tripping balls, aren't I? That leader of the biker gang was cool, but I think she laced the stuff with something else…" Never mind the fact that Keiame tried the stuff for the first time days ago. Her musings only stopped her from freaking out. Really, her mind was blown. The chirping of birds wasn't helping either.

She turned her head left and right. She appeared to be on some type of path. Keiame shrugged, deciding to go left. Going left was always good. She was, in fact, left-handed. The teen walked on. The path stretched farther than what she could see. "This is a bit weird," she mumbled. "There aren't places like this in Japan anymore—at least, not where I live." Keiame dug around in her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "Of course there are no bars… Stupid phone company…" She slipped the phone back in her pocket. Groaning, the girl continued to walk.

"As if I hadn't just finished running a marathon..." Keiame stopped and perked up. Ahead of her were people. They were all dressed in kimonos. She blinked in surprised. Obviously they were people from the festival, but seriously… did they have to go all out? "Top-knots—how cute…" Keiame suppressed her sarcasm. For the moment, she needed to find out where she was. Being rude would not help in this situation. "Excuse me," she said, walking forward. The three turned to her. The pair was a middle-aged man and woman. The other was a relatively old man. Keiame completely ignored their stunned expressions. "Could you tell me where the nearest station is?" Suddenly, there were angry—really angry. They kept calling her an 'it,' and shouting something about a daughter. "Hey, I may be mean sometimes, but calling me an it—that's rude, ya know!" She then noticed the pitchfork in the man's hand. The older man carried a hoe. "What the hell? Since when do old guys carry stuff like that? You know that's illegal, right?" The three loomed closer, stilling spouting something about demon and daughter. What annoyed Keiame the most was that they continued to repeat their sentences as if she didn't catch it the first time. "Get a dictionary, you psychos!"

Keiame took off running. There was no way she was going to stick around crazy people if she didn't have to. Once they were out of sight, she slowed, coming to a stop in a bed of flowers. She placed a hand over her racing heart, panting out a string of curses. "Really?" she wheezed out. "I didn't know crazy people traveled in packs!" She sank to her knees, resisting the urge to completely collapse. "Why does crazy shit have to happen to me _now_? It couldn't wait till I am old enough to drink, so I can drink it away and pretend it's just the booze, now, could it?" Keiame huffed again. Finally, her breathing was under control. "Where am I? How the heck did I get here?" She grinned nervously. "Dad's gonna have a heart attack because of me… his friggin fault, though."

She flinched a bit, hearing something. It sounded like laughter. Keiame whirled around only to a… thing. She deadpanned at the sight. A one-eyed, blue… thing stood next to a tree. Its mouth opened to reveal fangs. _"Yup… The last time I accept something from a leader of a biker gang." _Keiame stood up, eyeing the leopard printed loincloth the creature wore. "Your choice in cosplay is weird. Normal otaku usually choose human looking demons. I applaud you for going above and beyond. I must be near a convention or something, so could you point me to civilization?"

"I thought I smelled something—it's a human!"

"Right…" The situation just got more awkward. This otaku was a bit on the extreme side. "Yes, I am human. Now, please direct me to a pay phone."

"I was just getting hungry! This is so convenient."

"Okay, buddy, tone it down for a minute! I need to get home!" The cosplayer only stepped closer. His hand—or rather, claws made grabby gestures. "I'm getting pissed, ya know. I get mean when I'm pissed." Keiame unconsciously took a step back.

"You think you can run away?" The otaku laughed heartily. He suddenly appeared right in front of her. Keiame's eyes expanded. The little bugger was fast. "I'm going to eat yo—_arugh_!" Tired of the guy's shenanigans, the teen girl had lifted her leg, kicking him in the crotch. He fell to the ground, holding his family jewels. He groaned in pain, but Keiame didn't feel the least bit sympathetic.

"Would you stop playing around now? I said I've got to go home, stupid!" She placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. She glared down at the damn otaku as he practically wilted on the ground. "Oh, get over yourself! I didn't even kick you _that_ hard!" He stood up and attacked her! His hands were on her throat. It was quickly getting harder to breathe. Keiame gasped hysterically, real fear coming to eyes. _"I'm really gonna die because of an otaku? No! People will laugh at my funeral!"_ Keiame screamed out. Suddenly, her esophagus wasn't being crushed. Surprised and confused, she opened her eyes. The otaku was no longer there. She hesitantly looked around.

There wasn't a trace of him anywhere. And what was up with that strange feeling that came over her? Keiame shrugged. At least that crazy otaku was gone. Normal people were annoying, but she would literally beg to see one at the moment. "Hey, are you okay now?" An unfamiliar voice made the girl turn. She deadpanned again. Apparently, begging didn't work. Another otaku stood before her. This one was donned in red. His hakama were puffy. And the ears on top of his head looked more real than anything she had ever seen. His wig was silver, and his contacts were golden. Keiame didn't even realize they made contacts like that.

"And who are you supposed to be…? A cat thing?"

"Cat? I'll have you know that I am a _dog_ demon!"

"_Oooh_, I'm so _sorry_ for getting that wrong," Keiame bit out. _"Cat, dog—same thing."_ She rolled her eyes. This was an extreme otaku, too.

"Hey, wait!" He must have noticed her slowly backing away. Well, what did he expect? Everyone knew that there should be no quick movements when the situation concerns crazy folk. "What are you scared of? I'm not going to eat you. But never mind that—you were great! You defeated that demon with that shining light! What kinda technique was it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Keiame asked. "What light? That crazy otaku was trying to kill me! If you're talking about light, it must've been the police. That dick got scared and ran off."

"What the hell are _you_ talking about?" He blinked. "Hey—your clothes look like Kagome's clothes."

"I don't know what this Kagome character is, but it sounds needy… and pathetic." The otaku ignored her opinion. Talk about rude…

"You came from the present, didn't you?"

"Actually, I came from my mother's _loins_, but sure—why not?" came her sarcastic reply. The otaku looked a bit aggravated. He kept on repeating 'the present, the present!' "Look, dude, Christmas is still _months_ away! And anyway, what do I look like giving someone a present that I don't even know!"

The otaku sighed, clearly fed up. "Just follow me. Kagome will explain it better than me," he said. He began to walk away. Keiame released her own sigh. Maybe this Kagome friend of his didn't take whatever anime they're cosplaying to the extreme like he did. Rolling her eyes, she followed after the red-clad 'demon.' "Kaede's village is just ahead. Come on now." Oh great, they named their hotel. How lovely… Keiame stopped herself rolling her eyes again.

She followed the otaku, which still hadn't given his name yet, for ten minutes straight. Where the hell was the hotel? And how come the sun hasn't set yet? Keiame could have sworn she came home to a setting sun. _"Maybe it's been a day already? There goes my perfect attendance…" _Keiame had to snicker at the thought. The otaku suddenly stopped. She could actually hear him sniffing around. The girl blanched. He was really taking this dog demon _too_ far. Perhaps she should have brought some Scooby Snacks.

"There's a strange smell up ahead. I think that demon's buddies are around." He sniffed again and lowered into a stance.

"Great, there are more of you freaks to deal with," Keiame rolled her eyes again.

"The smell is coming from that purple light," he said. The girl narrowed her eyes. In the distance, there was something purple.

"I'd say it looks more like the smoke monster from _LOST_, but great job guessing!" The otaku glared her way. Finally, he had picked up on her sarcasm. "But what do you expect me to do? Go charging into his buddies with fierce determination?"

"Of course! We're going after them!" It was apparent that he did not pick up on her sarcasm. Keiame sighed heavily. "It should be easy if you use the red light again."

"Those were police sirens, you nitwit!"

"What'd you say?" the otaku exclaimed. He then turned away. "Here they come!" He took out his… sword. Definitely the biggest sword she had seen an otaku possess. It didn't even bend! Keiame stood beside the otaku to catch a glimpse of 'they.' The smoke monster was coming closer. However…

"They're not coming very quickly." Keiame produced a flat look. The otaku suddenly went charging in, sword raised high above his head. The girl sighed again before following him into the purple smoke.

As expected, the otaku attacked first, swinging his plastic sword at the wolf. The poor thing whimpered, but then got back up. Keiame's eyes grew wide. Animal cruelty much, she thought. But then that wolf attacked her, biting into her flesh. "_OW_!" She ran forward, swinging her leg. Her foot collided with the wolf's nose. "That hurt, you four-legged creep! Attack him, not me!" The rapid wolf snarled, causing Keiame to back up in fright. Luckily, the otaku came to her rescue. The creature howled in pain at being cut… and then it vanish. That's right, vanished into thin air. Keiame's eye twitched. "Did… You know what? Never mind—I'm obviously stoned right now." Pink elephants were definitely on the way.

"Maybe in ten years you'll have a better chance at beating me!" the otaku laughed as he crossed his arms. Keiame deadpanned as she stared at the arrogant demon. He was acting as if he was a god, or something. Honestly, all he did was beat an animal. That haughty act was not needed. Perhaps that was the character for whatever anime he was cosplaying. Keiame rolled her eyes.

"Way to toot your own horn, retard."

He glared at her again. "Keep talking like that and I won't let Kaede heal that nasty injury of yours." Keiame had to stop her eye from twitching. The pain was bearable, but it was bleeding rather badly. She would keep her comments to herself… for now. "Anyway, why didn't you use that last move again?"

"What move?"

"The one with the light! You know what I'm talking about—the one you used against that other demon!"

"Even if I did know what you were talking about, I don't know how to do it. Besides, death by light is kinda lame…"

"You're the one who's lame." Keiame smacked his throat. "OW! What was that for?" The girl slowly put down her hand, watching the otaku cough.

"This is why I hate freaks. They always think they're the ones who're cool."

"You're the one who doesn't know how to attack properly!"

"Eat dirt, asswipe!"

"It appears that move came from her subconscious. She was so afraid to die that he did it unconsciously." A voice came and explained little to nothing about the situation. The otaku must have saw Keiame's alarmed face, so he quickly answered the unasked question.

"That's just Myoga."

"Is he a demon, too?" Of course her voice dripped with sarcasm. The otaku was dense enough not to realize it. He stiffly nodded his head.

"Yes, I am Inuyasha's personal bodyguard. My name is Myoga."

Keiame stepped closer to the otaku, squinting her eyes. On his shoulder was a very small thing. It appeared to be a…flea. That's right, the mutt had fleas—how bloody original. _"I really am tripping balls…"_ Her eye twitched again as the flea thing bowed.

"How can you say you're my bodyguard when you run away at the tiniest signs of danger?"

"Never mind that! I can still sense demon's around us. This boy's power has not yet been awakened. We have to be careful."

"_Did he just call me a boy?"_ Again, her eye twitched. The otaku, Inuyasha, didn't seem to notice or care.

"You're right. I can still smell the demons, too."

"Sure you can, dog boy."

"I'm really going to enjoy watching you in pain over that injury if it gets infected."

"I'll be good…"


	2. Chapter 2

After picking up herbs and lollygagging around, Inuyasha—the otaku, and Keiame—the stoned teen, finally made it to Kaede's village. "We're finally here. This is Kaede's village." Inuyasha stated the obvious as a horse trotted pass. Keiame frowned, watching the horse until it was out of her sight. After the third or fourth purple cloud encounter, she decided that she was asleep and that it was all a dream caused by the pot, which she would _never_ try again. "Hey! What are you thinking about? If you don't hurry, I'll leave you behind!" Inuyasha, her guide to this bizarre dream walked away. Sighing, Keiame followed after him.

She stared the people, and in return, they stared at her. Of course she had to be the only one without a kimono. "This must be a historical dream…" she murmured. "This puts a whole new spin on blast from the past." Keiame followed Inuyasha, dog wonder, a few paces until another voice called out to him. The two turned to see a teenage girl running toward them. She wore a school uniform. Green and white were the colors. Keiame furrowed her eyebrows. She had seen the uniform before… _"Oh yeah, my school totally kicked that school's ass in basketball." _She grinned cheekily at the thought.

"Hey, Inuyasha! Where have you been?" She came to a stop, arms crossed. The new girl appeared to be pouting, or maybe she was angry. "There was a demon outside of the village and we needed your help to defeat it. You're never there when we need you."

"You're cool," Keiame grumbled as she narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Being totally dependent on someone is _soooo_ epic." The girl turned to her, confusion written on her face.

"Hey, who are you?" she asked.

"Kururugi Keiame, the toughest fifteen-year-old girl in Japan. Do not forget my title. I will punch or ignore you if that is not what you call me," was her answer. Hey, if this was a dream, then she mind as well play around. The unknown girl looked a bit uneasy. Keiame rolled her eyes. "Fine, you may call me Keiame-sama, but I will refer to you however I want." The girl only turned to Inuyasha for an explanation. Apparently, the one Keiame gave was a bit too complex.

"A demon was following her, so I stepped in."

The two stared at Keiame. She only looked back at then, raising both eyebrows. "What? Do you want me to say something? Well, fine…! This crap hole is pissing me right the fuck off, and I would appreciate waking up soon." The girl looked sympathetic.

"Please calm down. My name is Higurashi Kagome. I'm in the 9th grade, and this is Inuyasha." Keiame felt her entire face twitch at the information that just entered her ears.

"Like I give a fu-"

"I think you are from the present." Kagome had interrupted, causing Keiame to nearly growl. However, before she could attack the girl, a thought occurred.

"Wait… The present?" Kagome nodded, leading Keiame to believe that she was dealing with morons. There was a big problem with that. The girl clicked her teeth. "First of all, no one can be _from_ the present, only the future or past. Second, I'm obviously from the _future_. Because all this-" She gestured wildly to the things around her. "-don't exist in my time, which is my present. Dumbass…"

Kagome seriously looked hurt. Keiame rolled her eyes and sighed. "Don't talk to her like that!" Inuyasha stepped in.

"And you! I can't believe you thought she would explain something better than you! She can't explain anything! I bet she's the type of person that repeats what others say!"

"The type of person that repeats what others say…?"

"My point exactly!" Keiame deadpanned. "Listen, could you at least tell me where I am?" The girl perked up a bit.

"You're not in the present." Keiame seriously considered smacking Kagome. "This is _feudal_ Japan. I'm sure it's surprising, but it's true. I couldn't believe it at first either."

"So… in the past, there are demons, huh?" Keiame tapped her chin, thoughtfully. "This is gonna make one hell of a story to tell dad."

"This village is safe. You can stay here for awhile." Kagome gave a friendly smile.

Keiame rolled her eyes at the gesture as Inuyasha protested. Kagome then proceeded to bicker with the demon. She cleared her throat to get them to stop. The girl, belonging to Keiame's rival school, focused her attention again. She then stated that perhaps her transportation to this era will also be the thing that will take Keiame back to the present. She swallowed an insult and the urge to lash out at Kagome for not saying the future. "Fine, let's just go!" Maybe if she jumped into the well, the pain will bring her out of this crazy dream.

Within minutes, the three reached the _magical_ well. Keiame rolled her eyes. Big whoop…! It didn't appear very extraordinary to her eyes. She peered down the hole. It was obviously old. Bones were sticking up out of the ground. Kagome had called it the Bone-Eater's well. What a _creative_ and _fun_ name. Cue eye roll. Inuyasha stated that the villagers used to toss the bodies of dead demons into it.

"Don't say that! You're going to scare them!" Kagome reprimanded the demon.

_"Them…? _I'm_ the only one here…"_ Again, the two bickered back and forth, completely forgetting the reason they came to the well. After they finished, Kagome turned to Keiame with an apologetic expression. And for some reason she _did_ apologized. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just going to make fun of you for it later."

"What?"

"Bitchsaywhat?"

"What?"

"_Haha_—every single time."

"Anyway," Kagome continued. Apparently, she still didn't get it. "If you jump in, it should take you straight back to the present." Keiame twitched again, slapping her arm back down. She looked down the well again, trying to decide where to jump so that she wouldn't land on a misplaced bone.

"What are you doing? Hurry up!" Inuyasha roughly shoved her into the well before she was ready. Keiame flailed her arms, but that did little to stop the fall.

A few seconds passed before "_Ow_… My coccyx…" Keiame groaned in discomfort. Her body had landed quite awkwardly against the cold, hard ground. Her butt hurt, too. She was going to torture Inuyasha whenever the situation presented itself. He was now on her shit list. Above her, Kagome had begun to argue with him again. "Just so you know, I mean, it's not a big deal or anything like that. You might want to get on this right away, but I'M STILL FUCKING DOWN HERE! ARE YOU RETARDS GONNA HELP ME OR NOT?" The ears on top of Inuyasha's head nearly did a flip at her screeching. Keiame grinned. She was definitely going to use that voice on him later on, too. _"Push me down a well, will he?"_

"Fine, fine, just stop screaming!" Inuyasha jumped down and quickly grabbed a hold of her. Seconds later, she was standing on the green grass again. Keiame stared down at her shoes. Why couldn't she have worn her shit-kicker boots today? It would be the perfect opportunity to use them.

"I don't know why, but you can't seem to get through."

"Why, thank you, Captain Obvious!" Keiame turned to Kagome. "Is there anything else you would like to state?"

"Hm… Well, my skirt's pretty green, right?"

"I'm about to strangle this ho…" Inuyasha merely shook his head at Keiame's flat respond.

"Well, you don't have to be rude about it," Kagome huffed in return. "But I'm sure there's another way for you to get home."

"Yeah, by waking up from this nightmare…" Keiame folded her arms with a scoff. If she kept hanging around this two, she must just catch stupid.

"I think Kaede might be able to help out. We should go see her."

"Kaede, huh…? This person might be great if they named an entire village after her. Fine, let's go see her." Keiame clicked her tongue. "Hopefully she's smarter than these dipshits." She grumbled under her breath.

"What was that, bitch?" Inuyasha had heard her.

"Nothing," she smirked, glad he was finally starting to pick up on her personality. After all, she was contagious. They might turn out better.

0~0

Finally, after pointless conversations with senile old villagers, the group of three made it to Kaede's home. Kagome walked ahead, and then turned to Keiame. "This is Kaede's house," she said. Keiame's eyebrow twitched. Again, Kagome had stated the obvious for the umpteenth time. If Kagome does that one more time, then she might not be able to resist her pimp hand. Suddenly, out of the doorway came an exact replica of Higurashi Kagome. Keiame's eyes grew wide. She sputtered in horror, while pointing a finger.

"There is another one of you?" She grabbed her head and shook. She couldn't deal with another one of these freaks. What did she do to deserve this punishment? God—just wake up already, Keiame thought.

"Kagome's back…!" The voice was slightly different—_slightly_. It was high-pitched and childlike. It was a bit annoying as well.

"I can't believe she has a twin. This is the worst nightmare I've ever had!"

"Twins…?" The duplicate turned to Keiame with a smile. Chuckling, the clone continued. "What are you saying?" The confused teen only blinked. Inuyasha scoffed and walked over to the copy of Kagome.

"Behave yourself, Shippo!"

"What is he supposed to think when you come out like that?" Kagome asked.

"_I suppose to think that all of you are idiots and weed is bad." _Keiame's eye twitched. She was getting sick of people calling her a guy. The copy was then enveloped in a white cloud. Out popped a very small child. Her feet were more like paws. And she had a big, bushy tail, too. Keiame placed the back of her hand against her forehead. She was never going to get used to this high.

The little girl—probably a demon by the looks of it—must have thought Keiame needed some type of explanation because she began to explain something about the 'Art of Transformation.' Oh, so now ninja were being thrown into the mix? Keiame mentally rolled her eyes. _"This is _my_ nightmare! Why can't I make all of these retards go away?" _This acid trip could make a _really_ good story to tell the men in the white lab coats. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, little girl!" She finally interrupted the chatty demon. "My name's Keiame. For your benefit, it would be best to not talk my ear off. I do not like kids—I find them annoying… unless they're cuter than most."

"My name is Shippo and I'm not a girl! I am a respectable man!" The girl was clearly miffed. Keiame made a face before her eyes scanned over the demon's body. She deadpanned again.

"You're wearing a freaking _bow_."

"Listen, you, I don't care if you are Kagome's friend, I will-"

"Hold on, now, little girl! I ain't this idiot's _friend_! I wouldn't be if she was the last female on Earth!"

"Hey…!"

"But…" His angry voice faltered. "Didn't she bring you from the well?"

"No."

"Oh, you've got a problem then."

"No kidding, brat." Keiame rolled her eyes. Shippo yelled that he wasn't a kid, and that he should be respected like everyone else. "I don't even respect police officers, there's no way I'm respecting a child."

"Both of you stop it!" Kagome shouted. "We're going to Kaede's house, right?"

"We're already here, you retard," Keiame murmured.

"Cut it out!" Inuyasha nearly hissed. He whacked both Shippo and Keiame on the head. The demon child grabbed his head, screaming. Obviously, it was fake, but Kagome didn't see it that way.

"That's it! Inuyasha, si-" Before the teen could finish, Keiame backhanded the half-demon across the face. "Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped at the sight of the stumbling hybrid. "Keiame, what did you do that for?"

"This asswipe hit me! Of course I'm going to hit him back!"

"I'm gonna kill you!" Inuyasha roared once he came back to reality.

"Bring it on, freak!"

The two were literally pushing their foreheads together, trying to push the other person back. Kagome sighed heavily before calling out the command. Inuyasha plummeted to the group without so much of a warning. Keiame blinked in surprise, and then grinned cheekily. "What a good doggie, you are." Inuyasha grumbled something unintelligible in the dirt.

"This is the power of Priestess Kaede. Come on, let's go talk to Kaede."

"Why do you keep repeating her name? I heard you the first time you said it." Kagome seemed to flat out ignored Keiame's statement and walked into the house. Rolling her eyes, Keiame followed the rest of the freaks in.

Once inside, everyone sat down. Apparently, this Kaede person was an old woman. She didn't look capable of swatting a fly, let alone knowing how to time travel. Keiame sighed mentally, and frowned. Just what she needed—another senile old person. "Judging from your clothes, you must be from the same place as Kagome."

"Uh, no… I don't come from the land of stupid."

"Hey—your comments are really starting to get irritating!" Kagome heatedly exclaimed.

"Well, your voice is already irritating. Please save me from the torture." Keiame's voice was flat, obviously unaffected by the other teen's complaint. Kagome crossed her arms, huffing. "Anyway, yeah, I come from the future." The teen then began to explain how she had gotten traveled to this forsaken hellhole. Her language and tone of voice must have shocked the old woman because she looked startled.

"Please, child, watch ye language. I'm afraid I am not used to such pretty young ladies speaking this way."

"_Did… she just hit on me?"_ Keiame thought. She discreetly scooted further away. "_Ah_… whatever, I mean… sure." Once she was a safer distance, she finished telling her tale. "So that's what happened."

"I see… So the Bone-Eater's well did not work," Kaede murmured to herself. She was silent for a moment. "Unfortunately, I do not know how you are to get home."

"You mean I'm stuck here? Good God, no!" Keiame held her face in her hands, near tears.

"Oh, I feel for you," Shippo muttered. Kagome nodded in agreement. The teen tried to ignore the urge to lash out at the demon. What's a little kid and an idiot know about what she was currently feeling?

"How irritating," Inuyasha commented. "Why are you so upset?"

"Because I don't know how long I have to be around you freaks! Anyone in my position would be distressed!" Keiame shouted, causing the hybrid to glare at her.

"Don't be so hard on her, Inuyasha!"

"Whatever! It's not like she's gonna die if she can't get home!"

"Yeah, only catching stupid is my main problem."

"You could be a little nicer," Kagome mumbled.

"Being nice isn't going to find the way home," Inuyasha stated.

"That's the smartest thing you've said all day," Keiame commented, causing the red clad demon to glare again. "I agree with him. Besides, it's not like I care what someone tells me." The schoolgirl stood up. "If I'm going to find my way, I need to stop freaking out and actually do something about this… predicament of mine."

"If that is the case, then I suggest ye stay here with everyone until ye can find a way home," Kaede said. Before Inuyasha could begin his protest, Keiame busted out laughing. Her laughter was near hysteric.

Noticing that no one else had joined in, Keiame slowly stopped giggling. She blinked, and then looked at everyone. "Oh, oh—you were _serious_?" Inuyasha and Shippo nearly growled.

"Wait a minute, Inuyasha. Just like Kagome arrived in this world, this situation is not a trivial matter either," Kaede stated. "If something should happen, then it would be better if you were together."

"This is so annoying…"

"I'm right with you, Inuyasha." Keiame rolled her eyes.

"It's decided then! Keiame will stay with us!" Kagome ignored the loud groan that came from the said girl. "Let's go listen to the village gossip! Maybe we'll find a clue from something we hear." Keiame's left eye twitched.

"Just what I needed—useless gossip from old people. This is the greatest suggestion ever! Nice one, Kagome. You are one smart cookie for thinking about that idea!" The sarcasm in her voice wasn't lost to Inuyasha's ears.

"Well, thank you, Keiame. I'm glad you're starting to see things the _right_ way." However, Kagome did not hear it.

Inuyasha had to hold Keiame back from strangling Kagome.

0-0


	3. Chapter 3

So apparently, the old woman, Kaede agreed with Kagome's off the wall plan of talking with the villagers of this forsaken place. That had been over twenty minutes ago, and frankly Keiame was becoming fed up of the nonsense she was hearing. From annoyed villagers to villagers who didn't know squat, it was all becoming very irritating. "Hey…!" At least she wasn't the only one feeling miserable. Inuyasha, too, was getting annoyed. "We've looked through the entire village now!"

"I know! And we're not getting anywhere!" Keiame agreed.

"So if it's not this village… maybe it's the next one—Akebi village," Kagome suggested. Keiame turned to her, eye twitching.

"And you didn't say this before _because_?" she asked.

"The village gossip was a bit interesting…"

"Who the fuck cares about _mysterious_ fields, which may, or may not, hold_ mystery_? And if I hear another arthritis story…!" Keiame shouted. She yanked on her short hair in frustration. "I just wanna get home, ya freak!" The girl crossed her arms, ignoring the hurt look on Kagome's face. "Let's just go already!"

"But… There are all sorts of demons on the way to the next village," Shippo stated. He sounded a bit scared. His voice quavered and his shoulders tremble.

"What's there to worry about? Inuyasha can get rid of them like always," Keiame shrugged. Inuyasha chuckled, crossing his arms in a smug manner.

"That's right! Inuyasha has no brains, but he's got plenty of brawn!" Shippo teased.

"Shut it, Shippo!" Inuyasha did not find that funny at all. He delivered a strike to the young demon's head. The fox demon yelped and complained. Keiame rolled her eyes at the spectacle as Kagome scolded the half-demon. She placed her hands on her hips. Come to think of it, Inuyasha and Shippo were both demons, and yet… they were different somehow.

"Hey, I've got a question! Why aren't you two demons vicious like the other ones we've met?" Keiame asked. "Seems a bit odd to me."

"What? Are you talking about Inuyasha and Shippo?" Kagome's question nearly caused Keiame to snap.

"_Naaaah_, I'm talking about the other two demons that live in this village!" she sarcastically replied.

"Inuyasha isn't _really_ a demon, though…" Kagome ignored the sarcasm.

"I think the two ears on top of his head and the physical strength of him makes him a demon, but whatever, I don't care anymore," Keiame grumbled. "Can we just get to the next village already? I'm tired of being around your stupidity and I think it might be contagious." She crossed her arms as Kagome pouted lightly. "But since there _are_ demons out there who _don't_ intend to just let us pass, we should bring medical stuff. I'm not planning on going to this Akebi village with injuries."

"That's a good idea," Shippo agreed. "We should go shopping."

"Let's get this over with," Keiame sighed out. "The sooner we get to this village, the sooner I can get home."

0-0

Once items were bought and a farewell was given to Kaede, the group of four was on the road again—the _Road to Akebi_, that is. Keiame pushed herself forward. She was sweating, aggravated, and seconds away from passing out. Countless demons encounters had occurred in a half hour's time. "When will it end?" Keiame wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Are we there yet?" she groaned out loud. "This whole thing is getting ridiculous! I'm tired of ghosts, wolves, bats, and gigantic earthworms! Where is this village already?"

"Quit complaining!" Inuyasha told her. "We're almost there, so-" He stopped talking. Keiame sighed heavily. He always stopped moving, and then sniffed the surrounding area whenever they were about to be attacked. "Get ready, you guys! They're more of them this time!"

Suddenly, four demons popped out of nowhere—two wolves and two ghosts. "Damn it…! I just wanna get to the next village!" Keiame screamed. She ran at the wolf demon on the far right. "Is that so hard to _ask_?" Her fist connected with the demon's snout. This seemed to be most effective when dealing with wolves. Used to the growl, Keiame hurriedly stood by Inuyasha's side again. He would protect her from the furious demon. However, it was Shippo who had her back. He jumped into the air, crying out his attack's name.

"**Fire Bombs**!" He threw a handful of large firecrackers at the wolf demon. Surprisingly, the wolf vanished. That new attack Shippo had was very effective. Keiame had to smirk. The little brat was becoming useful.

"Yes…!" Kagome pulled an arrow out and aimed at the last wolf demon. "Please… hit the mark!" The arrow went flying. However, it landed in front of her target. Keiame deadpanned. It was a sad day when even a child bested a teenager. "Sorry…" she murmured as if that would make it all better.

The bat demon launched his attack, going for Keiame. She braced herself for the attack by crossing her arms. A poisonous mist surrounded the girl. She held her breath and closed her eyes. Inuyasha's voice rang out. "Got it…!" His claws dug into his chest, and then shot his arm forward. Red blade-like projectiles pierced the flesh of the enemies. "**Blades of Blood**!" The damage that was dealt actually caused the remaining demons to freeze. After a couple of seconds, they, too, vanished. Keiame sighed heavily, dropping to the ground. "_Heh_. All those guys put together don't stand a chance against me!"

Shippo ran forward, and picked up the things left behind by the demons. Medical stuff and money—who knew demons carried around stuff like that? It was ridiculous. The first couple times it happened, Keiame shrugged it off as a coincidence. However, she learned that all demons carried around things for _humans_ to use. Why couldn't it be so easy to get money in her world? All the countries in the world would be rich if demons existed just to give money. Keiame's eye twitched at the thought. She looked down at her leg. No, it just wouldn't be worth risking your life. She had gotten pretty effective at dodging the creatures attacks, but sometimes, they were faster.

"Oh, you're hurt!" Kagome turned to her. "Let me take care of it." Keiame glared at the other school girl as she rubbed the medical herb on her injury. As far as she was concerned, this injury could have been avoided if Kagome had not missed during the last demon encounter. There had only been one demon! What the hell was she aiming for? Mentally, Keiame sighed. Kagome was not a fighter. She was a healer. She could not blame the girl for being semi-useless in battle. "There, that should do it!"

"Okay, okay—can we go now?" Keiame muttered, going around Kagome. "I think I see something up ahead." She squint her eyes. "Oh wait… It's just another traveling salesman. God, they're everywhere…!" She walked pass the man as he opened his mouth to say the same thing the last guy said. "For the love of all that's stupid—I don't want to buy anything! And tell your persistent cousins to drop it, too!"

"Hey, you don't need to be rude, Keiame!" Kagome scolded.

"Trust me, retard, I can get a whole lot ruder," Keiame replied, locking her hands behind her head. "Now let's _go_!" That's when something shiny caught her eye. She squatted down, ignoring Kagome telling her that it was indecent, and picked up the item. It seemed to be some kind of ring. Shippo jumped on her shoulder.

"It's a power ring!" he exclaimed in amazement. "It can raise the power behind your attacks!" Keiame raised a brow, and then unceremoniously placed it on her ring finger.

"This was actually a good find," she said, petting Shippo on the head. "I'm glad you have useful information, Shippo-chan."

"I'm a guy!" He bit her finger, and then jumped on Inuyasha's head. "You better learn that sooner than later!" Keiame merely stuck her tongue out.

"Stop teasing," Kagome said. "The village is just up ahead." Her brown eyes stared off into the distance.

"Thank you!" Keiame ran forward, causing the others to follow along. "Sweet, demon free village! Oh, how I've missed you!"

"Would you please stop kissing the dirt?" Inuyasha scowled. "People are staring!" Keiame sent a glare his way, and then smirked. She stood from her knees.

"Why…? Jealous that you're not kissing the dirt like usual?" she asked. "I'm sure Kagome can arrange something for you, Inu-kun!"

"Sh-Shut up!" Inuyasha ran after Keiame, who took off into the village. "Get back here, you little runt! I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

"You have to catch me first, fleabag!" Keiame retorted, sticking her middle finger up at the dog demon in the process. She was so busy taunting Inuyasha to run faster that she did not see the person standing in the middle of the road until he was too late. She collided, head first, into the idiot that didn't think to move. "_Ow_…!" She rubbed her bottom. "Walk much, asshole?" Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kagome finally caught up just as Keiame stood.

"What's going on?" Shippo asked.

"You guys can't get out of the village either?" the stranger said.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Inuyasha asked.

"Your clothes are different, so I figured you're not from around here."

"I guess you're right about that, but why would you think we couldn't get out of the village?" Keiame muttered, scratching the back of her head. "Do people not normally escape?"

"I don't think escape is the word you want to use…" Kagome murmured.

"Because of the spider! There's a big spider wandering around the place! No one can leave the village because everyone is scared," the stranger continued. A chill went up Keiame's body.

"Spider…? I hate spiders!" She shuddered, hugging herself.

"I don't like them much either," Kagome had to return the spotlight to herself.

"I don't think that's the problem," Shippo stated his opinion. The stranger then went into a rant about how creepy the spider was. Keiame found herself rolling her eyes. She kicked the man in the shin to get him to shut up.

"Talk straight, old man!" Inuyasha nodded his head in agreement with Keiame's actions.

"Sorry, sorry… Damn brats…" the stranger grumbled. "Anyway, until the spider is taken care of in the temple, no one will leave this village."

"Thanks for the info, old man, but I think I'll stand clear of this gigantic spider," Keiame retorted, walking away. Kagome reluctantly followed after the girl.

"So you're saying we're not going to help?" she asked.

"Why should we?"

"Because it's the right thing to do!"

"Obviously, you're living in a fantasy world. You shouldn't be offering help that you can't provide. You are about as useless as shit in battle, ya retard," Keiame said, continuing to walk. Kagome suddenly stood in front of her, hands on her hip.

"My _name_ is Kagome, not retard! Kagome! Kagome! Ka-go-me!" she explained with a frown.

"That's what I said—retard," Keiame replied, side-stepping the irritated schoolgirl. "There's a lake up ahead. I'm going to wash my legs. I'll be right back!" She ran forward, not waiting for the other's response.

When she reached the small body of water, she realized that it was another person standing there, right at the water's edge. Keiame blinked. The person wasn't moving. Judging from the hunched back of the person, she could tell that it was an elder. "What rare use of the Shikigami power." Judging from the voice, this elderly person was a male. Keiame blinked again. He must have been talking to himself. Elderly people liked to do that, after all. However, the old man turned and faced Keiame. The young girl found herself stepping back. "When you were in danger, do you remember what you cried out?"

"I believe it was something about laughing at a funeral, but how would you know?" Keiame narrowed her eyes in suspicion. The old man only cackled out and replied with a vague answer. Keiame pressed her lips together. This old man was odd, but something he said before bugged the hell out of her. "Just what did you mean by Shikigami power? What is it?"

"It is a spiritual power deep inside every creature. It can be controlled and wielded as attack or defense," the old man replied. Great—crazier shit, Keiame thought. "You have only just awakened your powers. You don't even know how to use them yet."

"At least I'm more useful than Kagome's ass…" Keiame murmured.

"I do not know who this Kagome is, but she sounds pitiful."

"_Haha_…! I think we're going to get along great! What's your name?" The old man said that his name was Kakuju. It was a bizarre name, but Keiame only shrugged. She stepped closer to the old man. "You know, you shouldn't style your hair that way. I bet it makes it harder to see things."

"Yes, well, I'm already losing my eyesight, so it doesn't matter, anyway, right?"

"I suppose so… Say, about this power… can you teach me how to use it?" Keiame asked. "If it's in every creature, then it's in me, too, so learning how to control it shouldn't be too much of a big deal."

"Okay, then stand in front of me," Kakuju ordered. Keiame did as such. "Hold my hand, close your eyes, and be very still." Keiame hesitated a bit.

"I think I need an adult…" she muttered.

"I am an adult!" Kakuju took a hold of her hand and laughed crazily.

Suddenly, Keiame's body began to glow. Gusts of winds seemed to come out of the ground underneath her, blowing up her school skirt and her short brown hair. She shivered, yet the wind was hot. The feeling that overwhelmed her felt as if it was going through her entire body. She gasped, feeling Kakuju release her hand. The feeling had also disappeared. "Whoa…!" She pushed down her shirt, and smoothed down her hair. "What was that?"

"I have fully awakened Shikigami within you. Now you must learn to use it," Kakuju stated. He moved to stand next to the girl. "Do you see that rock? Do you see how it sparkles?" Keiame nodded her head, forgetting Kakuju couldn't see well. However, the old man paid no mind and continued speaking. "It reacts to Shikigami power. If you can break it, you can control Shikigami. Why don't you try it now?"

Again, Keiame nodded her head. She went over to the large rock, trying to figure out how to break it. She shrugged her shoulder. "Here goes something…" She reared her fist back, and then launched it forward. The rock was turned to rubble before her very eyes. Keiame gapped at her handy work. If her eyes hadn't been deceiving her, then the rock had turned red when she hit it before crumbling. "Holy crap from a dog demon! I'm like Tsunade from _Naruto_!"

"So now you know how to use the Shikigami power." Kakuju's voice stopped the teenager from celebrating. Keiame nodded her head with a smile. Finally she had met someone she liked. In addition, the old man had told her something good. "Then, I'll sure we'll meet again."

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm just supposed to know how to use it now?" Keiame's skeptic voice made the old man frown. He slowly nodded. "How can that be? Just once and I'm like a master, or something?"

"Well… no… There's still a lot more you can do with Shikigami."

"So you're telling me that I can only smash rocks?" Keiame almost hissed when Kakuju gave an affirmative answer. "Well, then teach me more than just breaking rocks, old man!" She crossed her arms. Kakuju opened his mouth, probably to protest. Keiame was quick to interrupt. "I guess that means you're going to be teaching me, _huh_?"

"That wasn't my plan…" Kakuju turned away. Keiame grabbed the front of his kimono. "Alright, alright!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

So for the next two hours, the old man trained the schoolgirl. There were times when he wanted to stop, but Keiame was ruthless. Each time Kakuju asked for a break, the teen glared at him and asked if he wanted to continue walking. Honestly, how could a girl threaten an elderly person that way? Kakuju watched the girl wipe sweat from her forehead. Actually, she was sweaty in more places. That's the only place she liked to wipe, though.

The old man sighed heavily, drawing Keiame's attention. She gave him a grin. "Okay, okay. I've spent enough time here anyway." Kakuju nodded his head, and then quickly moved away. The girl blinked. She had never seen an old person move so fast. Keiame snickered a bit before walking off. Inuyasha and the others probably weren't worried about her, but it had been a long time. Keiame flexed her fingers before smirking. "I can't wait until I surprise those freaks with my own freaky power! _Buwahahahaha_!" She instantly stopped. "Oh no… I'd better keep my cool or else I'm turn into one of those retards…" The girl walked away from the small body of water back into the village.

"Hey, Keiame, you retard! Where the hell were you?" Inuyasha's voice brought her from her thoughts. The girl spotted the group a few yards away. She instantly glared at the red clad demon. "We're going after the spider demon for a family we ran into, so get your butt in gear."

"Hey, don't steal my insult!" Keiame ran forward. "And I already said that I'm not going to-"

"There's money involved," Shippo stated

"When do we leave?"

Inuyasha deadpanned.

0~0


	4. Chapter 4

"Look, all I'm saying is that it's creepy that it changed from day to night so quickly! And that hooting owl isn't helping any either!" Keiame hugged herself for comfort. There was a shrouding mist as well. Luckily it was not thicker than what she could see in front of her. Once, it had been terribly misty and she had run into numerous telephone poles. Her father almost had a stroke when he saw her face, thinking she had gotten into a fight.

"Quit complaining already!" Inuyasha crossed his arms as he walked. "You've already faced demons, so a little owl shouldn't scare you. Besides, _you're_ only in it for the money."

"And _you're_ only in it for the demons! So _back_ off!"

"Both of you quit it!" Kagome chided. The two grumbled under their breath. "I think we're almost there… Yeah, there it is!"

The schoolgirl pointed a finger. Up ahead was a building structure. It looked much larger than any other house that Keiame had come across in this era. Yes, it also looked quite old, but stable. The group of travelers stopped in front of the entrance. "So this is what an old temple looks like? The ones in the future are smaller." Keiame walked up the stairs with the others following behind. The girl mentally shook her head. They had been more experience and yet she was the one leading? Keiame scoffed at the thought. Inuyasha acts tough, but really he's just a big pansy.

Keiame turned her head left and right, trying to figure out where to go. She shrugged her shoulders, and then looked ahead. There seemed to be an opening. Since she couldn't decided at the moment, it wouldn't hurt to go through the door. She stepped in. Shippo jumped on her shoulder. She could feel his claws gripped her clothes. He was most definitely shaking. Keiame's eyes shifted back to the room. Glowing items lay scattered. Whoever lived here was quite the generous person. Grinning, Keiame ran over to each item, snatching up the valuable things. Maybe she could sell them later on.

The girl stood with a grunt. There were two doors—one on the left and right. Keiame peeked inside the room on the right. It was just a room. She mentally released a sigh. Walking in, her eyes scanned the room. There were more glowing items. She found antidote, tonic, and a crystal hair gem. _"Ooh, pretty…!"_ Keiame showed it to the fox demon her on shoulder. "Here, Shippo-chan, you can wear-"

"I'm a guy!" he screeched.

"You don't have to make my ears bleed, ya know!"

"Would you two cut it out? We need to find the spider!" Inuyasha nearly growled. The two in question turned to look at the leader of the group. There was a pause. Then the two pulled the skin under their eye and stuck out their tongues. "Oh, that's real mature." Keiame and Shippo stopped. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Keiame placed the hair gem in her hair. For some reason, she felt a little better about fighting demons. The item must have special properties like the power ring she had found earlier. The group let the small room. It was time to head in the other direction. The bigger room looked just as creepy as it did when they left it. The statue in the middle of the room seemed to follow their movement. _"I'm not afraid!" _Keiame told herself. _"If I can handle demons, then I can handle just about anything."_ She took a giant step forward. Besides, demons weren't even showing themselves. They were usually all over the place—purple smoke or not—whenever they were not in a village.

Kagome suddenly let out a scream. Inuyasha cried out that it was an ambush. Keiame sighed heavily. "Irony, you bitch…" she murmured as she ran in line. Inuyasha and Shippo were on either side of her. Kagome was standing next to Shippo, preparing an arrow. However, she could not stop the crow demon from biting her arm. She screamed again and fell down. Inuyasha shouted in anger, brandishing his sword. He managed to strike down two of the demons, but not the one that had attacked Kagome. That, apparently, was Shippo's job.

"You just watch!" He hopped into the air and pulled his attack from his clothes. "**Fire Bombs**!" The little demon threw his attack at the crow demon. Explosives were set off all around the demon. The bigger than normal crow froze, and then vanished. That attack really was strong.

"Nice one, Shippo!" Keiame turned her attention to the Dokugan Demon. It was the last one. She smirked. It was time to show off her new ability. The kimono wearing foe had no clue who it was dealing with. The girl curled her fingers into a fist. "Time to show 'em, Shikigami!" Keiame ran forward, fist reared back in preparation. The demon actually looked surprised before her light engulfed fist rammed into its cheek. The demon screamed out as it was consumed by red light. Keiame jumped back just as the thing literally exploded. She held up her arms to shield herself from the blast. Once the hot wind died down, there was silence. She dropped her arms. "And _that's_ how it's done!"

Keiame turned to face the others. Her comrades were staring, mouths agape. "How did you do that?" Shippo jumped on Keiame's shoulder. "When did you learn something like that?" The girl patted the little demon on the head.

"Well, I haven't just been sitting on my ass, Shippo!"

"Don't use that language in front of Shippo!"

"Eat a big one, retard!" Keiame retorted. Kagome crossed her arms and pouted. "Anyway, Inuyasha told me I used it once before—that light, so I decided to learn out to use it again. This old guy, Kakuju, taught me. He touched me and pulled things out of me that I never knew I had!" Keiame missed the eye twitching from Kagome. "Awesome, isn't it?" Shippo nodded in his head in agreement. She looked at the dog demon. Inuyasha was now smirking.

"I can imagine that things will get a lot easier now that you've mastered that red light." He put his sword away. "What did you call it? Shikigami?"

"Yeah, that's what the old man said."

"I can't wait to see what else you can do."

"Why the hell would there be anything else?"

"… Let's just go, damn you."

0~0

After that first battle here, the demons seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Keiame sighed heavily after Inuyasha destroyed the last demon. "Maybe in ten years you have a chance in beating me!" The dog demon liked to say that a lot after a battle. So far, they had found an old temple key. Finding the door it belonged to was horrible, though. It blended in with the wall. Well, actually, it stood out because it was painted white. Inuyasha just said that Keiame had retarded eyesight. He seemed to ignore the fact that he didn't see it either. The dog demon picked up something. Apparently, it was another tonic.

Keiame wiped the sweat from her brow. These demon sightings were becoming more and more frequent. That note left behind had been true. Whoever had written must be dead by now. There were more notes just like it, leaving Keiame to wonder why the people had time to write, but not run. She mentally shook her head. People were dumb, that's why. If she had the options of running and writing, she would most definitely pick the one not involving demons that liked human flesh. Anyway, the demons were increasing. Kagome suggested it was because they were getting to the source—the spider demon.

"I wish the spider demon would just come to us!" Keiame groaned, stepping in another room. Inuyasha suddenly stood in front of her. "Inuyasha, what-"

"Quiet…! There's a strange smell."

"Why do I need to be quiet in order for you to smell something?" Keiame whispered.

Inuyasha turned an angry glare at her. "I smell blood. It's strong… and human," he stated. Kagome told him to be careful. She also said that the giant spider web and the smell of the blood were giving her a bad feeling. Keiame had to press her lips together in order not to say anything at her simple logic. It was obvious—completely obvious—that human blood and a spider demon was bad news. "I know, but we can't come this far just to turn around. You guys stay here."

"What are you saying, Inuyasha?" Shippo sounded a bit freaked.

"No matter how strong you are, you'll still be in danger if you go alone," Kagome said.

"Actually, I think Inuyasha can take it," Keiame said.

"Thank you, Keiame! I'm glad to know _someone_ has faith in me!"

"Be quiet! Keiame just doesn't want to face the spider!"

"I'll defeat him quickly, and then come back. You guys stay here."

"You already said that. You know repeating yourself is a sign of fear."

After giving one final glare, the dog demon went down the corridor. It was silent for a few minutes. Kagome assured Shippo and Keiame that Inuyasha was just trying to get them from danger. "Correction, he wants to keep you from danger because Shippo and I can take care of ourselves." Kagome looked as if she was about to retort, but she suddenly turned her head away from Keiame.

"Wh-What's that…?" she asked herself.

"What happened, Kagome?"

"This… It can't be!"

"What? What can't be?" Keiame asked, confused. Kagome said that she could sense shards of the Shikon Jewel. "And… what the fuck is that?" The raven-haired girl seemed to ignore the question. She confirmed what she said by repeating her statement.

"It's what we've been looking for this whole time. The Shikon Jewel is the reason I'm here. It was once a sphere, but then it was broken and spread around."

"If demons get a hold of even one shard, they become more powerful."

"Whoa… Who was the dumbass that broke something like that?" An embarrassed flush crossed Kagome's face. "Oh… Oh, I should've known." Keiame frowned and crossed her arms. "If demons get more powerful with just one shard, and Kagome can sense more than one, doesn't that mean that Inuyasha really _is_ in danger?" Kagome's eyes grew wide as if she just realized it.

"He _is_ in danger! Shippo, let's go!"

"Okay!"

"Okay, I'll just wait… here…" Keiame narrowed her eyes. The two had already taken off down the hall. She sighed heavily. "So the big bad has a lot of power now, _huh_? Something tells me Kagome's not going to do much good." Keiame turned her head to the entrance of the room. She could also leave them behind. However, Shippo has been a little bit nice to her. It would be rude to leave him behind—Inuyasha, too. He was much too strong to leave behind. She hated to admit it, but Kagome was also an asset, slightly valuable. Keiame sighed again. "Guess I'll just wait until-"

Inuyasha's voice reached her ears.

"-My cue…" Keiame looked at her wrist as if there was a watch there. Kagome was heard screaming. Keiame closed her eyes. Her brow twitched. "My word, that was fast." She twisted her pinky in her ear. "I better go see what's up." The girl ran down the hallway, searching for wherever her comrades went. She reached the end of the corridor, only to realize that she was at a dead end. "_Oops_… Must have passed it already." Another scream was heard. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, retard." Keiame doubled back. Finally she came to open doors. "This must be it."

She walked through, only to lay eyes upon Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kagome trapped in spider webs. Beyond their bodies was the giant spider demon. He looked as if he was humping the floor. The spider focused its attention on her. "Well, well, there are more of you. Since you've escaped being captured, you should run away. Do you really want me to suck your blood?" Keiame deadpanned.

"Last time I checked, giant spiders don't sparkle, so I'm going to have to say no. You're no Emmett Cullen."

"How stupid!" the spider laughed out. Something green attacked her, causing the girl to yelp out in surprise. It didn't hurt that much, though. Inuyasha told her that she couldn't win. Kagome told her that she had to run away. Shippo told her to save herself. Keiame frowned at their heartfelt words.

"You think I'm not strong enough? You think I shouldn't stay and fight?" She bowed her head and planted her feet. They stared at her in surprise as the spider laughed. Keiame clenched her fists. The girl lifted her, eyes showing her anger. "How dare you call me weak?" That's when her eyes spotted a sparkling thing right above the spider. It appeared to give off the same aura as that Serpentine rock that Kakuju showed her.

She smirked.

"Give up, little one. If not, I'll eat you first!"

"Just try it, ugly!" The attack came again, yet this time Keiame rolled out of the way. Quickly, she stood again, clasping her hands out in front of her. "Show some love, Shikigami!" Her hair stood on end as the red light engulfed her. Keiame closed her eyes, feeling the same intense feeling the first time Kakuju awakened the power within. Keiame sharply opened her eyes. Her connected hands moved as if to smash an invisible opponent on the head. The sparkling rock exploded. Keiame had to shield her eyes because it had become bright and windy. When she opened her eyes, the others were no longer trapped. The webs must have been blown away.

The spider stuttered out a surprised sentence. Kagome gasped and Shippo cheered that he was free. Inuyasha was still staring in surprise. He smirked, stood, and then turned to the spider. "Great! Now we can get him!" He glanced behind him. Keiame blinked. "Together." The girl blinked again. The spider demon roared in anger. Keiame wasn't even aware that spiders could roar. She slowly nodded her head, causing Inuyasha to shift his attention back to the giant foe. Keiame ran to his side. Kagome stood next to her. "Let's go!" He pulled his sword out and ran at the giant demon. However, it wasn't his sword that he used. It was his claws. "**Iron Reaver Soul Stealer**!" The giant spider crashed into the wall, but it came back, looking pissed.

"Right." Keiame raced forward as well. However, instead of a punch, she swung her leg back and kicked the thing in the face. No way was she about to make skin contact with the spider. Again, the creature roared, causing the girl to run back. Shippo jumped on her shoulder and propelled himself off her back, launching himself at the demon.

"**Fire Bombs**!"

The explosives were heard as Keiame fell back in line. Shippo jumped back as well. This spider was a persistent one. After three attacks, normal demons would have died. "Hit the mark…!" Kagome pulled and released an arrow. Fortunately, the arrow actually pierced the demon, going straight through it. "Did I get him?"

"That was pretty good, Kagome—I'm surprised."

"So I'm not the only one that thinks she's below average, huh?" Keiame chuckled, feeling Kagome's glare on her. However, the girl had no time to retort because the spider demon had launched his own attack. The attack hit Keiame dead on, forcing her back. Shippo called out her name. "I'm fine…" She held her stomach. She suddenly felt sick. "On second thought-" Keiame fell to her knees. She barely heard Kagome run over to her. The schoolgirl turned her body over. She felt exhausted. "Give me a minute, retard, I'll be okay."

"No you won't! You've been poisoned!" She quickly dug around in Keiame's pocket. "I found the antidote! Take it!" Kagome practically forced the antidote down her throat. Keiame uneasily swallowed. "That should do it." She did feel a bit better.

"It's over! **Wind Scar**!" Keiame sat up and looked towards the sword wielding demon. The power of Inuyasha's sword had completely obliterated the giant spider demon. With each second that passed, Keiame felt more herself. She sighed in relief. The demon was gone. "Maybe in ten years you have a chance against me!"

"I kinda hate the fact that you keep tooting your own horn, but… that was cool, Inuyasha." Keiame stood up and removed Kagome's concerned hands from her shoulders. The dog demon turned away with a look of stunned silence on his face. "I mean it! That was awesome." Inuyasha blinked, and then turned away again.

"Thanks… I guess. You weren't too bad yourself. You're not as useless as I first thought."

Keiame gave a cheeky grin. "Thank you for helping us. I thought we were done for." Kagome stood beside Inuyasha. Shippo was suddenly in her face, screaming how dangerous it was. The next time the fox demon jumped, Keiame grabbed him. Shippo was glaring daggers at her.

"Thank you for being concerned, Shippo-chan, but everyone's okay now." The little demon scoffed and crossed his arms. He jumped on Keiame's head.

"Yeah, that's all that matters." Inuyasha crossed his arms. Keiame turned her attention to the left. "What is it?" Everyone else shifted their attention as well.

"It looks like a spider's nest, doesn't it?" Keiame commented. "If we have to fight another one, I'll-"

"No, I don't think that's it!" Kagome walked over to the oval shaped thing. "I see something inside." Inuyasha took out his sword again. Without a word, he sliced through the cocoon. It disappeared, and in its place stood a young girl. "It's Sachi!"

"Who…?"

"That was scary! Thank you so much!" Kagome walked over to the child. She asked if there was anything hurting. The little girl, with the unbelievable high voice, said that she was fine. "But how did you know my name?"

"Because apparently, these freaks are stalkers, too."

Keiame's remark was ignored. Kagome explained that the girl's father and mother asked them to look for her. Keiame assumed that the girl is the only reason they came. In return, her parents would give money. The girl looked on as Kagome comforted the child. She shrugged, agreeing with Inuyasha when he said it was good that the child wasn't eaten yet. If she had been, there would probably no money for this hardship. "Let's go, everyone."

"Finally…! I thought we'd get out of there! Let's go accept our money!"

0~0

After returning the little girl to her family, and accepting the reward, the group of four was walking through the village. They intended to go back to Kaede's village. However, Keiame decided to make a pit stop. "I have to thank the old man who gave me my power, don't I?" She dashed away from the group, grinning because of their complaints. They had caught up just as the girl spotted the old man. He was leaning against his cane, looking as if he would fall over at any moment. Kakuju was snoring. Holding back a laugh, Keiame quietly move to stand beside him. "What up, gramps!" The old man snorted and choked as he fell over. Kagome yelled that it wasn't nice to treat the elderly that way. "Pipe down, retard. This guy can take it, can't you, Kakuju?"

The old man slowly moved to stand. He laughed out, sounding a bit crazed. The others took a step back. "You haven't been gone long, but you've already experienced so much. It looks like you're able to wield the Shikigami power much better. Tell me what happened." Keiame nodded, and then animatedly told her version of what had happened.

"Hey! When the hell did I beg for help?" Inuyasha growled.

"I didn't scream and run away…" Kagome frowned.

"It's true that I saved all their butts, though!" Shippo smiled happily.

"I'm surprised that you defeated the spider. You _have_ gotten better at using the power of Shikigami." The old man almost frowned. "But I have a premonition that you will be fighting many more demons from now on. But don't worry. There are many uses for Shikigami. It can do more than just break rocks. Come stand beside me. I know you want to fight using the Shikigami." Keiame enthusiastically nodded her head. She moved to his will. "This is your first time, so I will be gentle. Now be still as I reach deep inside you and grab hold of your essence." Again, Kagome twitched. Was she the only one freaked out about this old man? The things he said didn't seem to fit. However, Keiame kept one eye open.

"One wrong move, gramps…" she told him.

"_Haha_!" After going through the same process, Kakuju released her. "Now you have learned to call upon the power of Shikigami when you fight. When you gain stronger friendships, you will be able to combine your attacks."

"I'm a little skeptical, but I guess I should expect that."

"That's good for now. Soon you will be able to fully understand it. After you gain more experience and learn to use it efficiently, not only will you be able to use it when you fight, but you will also learn to use the many different powers of the Shikigami." Keiame grinned. "You should go now. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Thank you, gramps!"

0~0

The group had finally made it back to Kaede's village. It had been a long road back to the village, so Shippo suggested that everyone rest before trying to figure out what to do next. Keiame had whole-heartedly agreed. After reaching the village, everyone decided to rest. Kaede was gracious enough to let them all rest in her home. However, Keiame made sure to sleep far away from the old woman.

It was the next morning. Keiame had been the last to awaken. She stretched, and then yawned loudly. The other three turned to her for a brief moment. They were surrounding breakfast. Keiame's stomach grumbled at the smell of the food. The teen used her knees to crawl over to the one of the free sides, almost completely the square. There was another spot, so she assumed that Kaede was out and about. Old people liked to get up at the crack of dawn for some reason. Keiame happily took the bowl of okayu. The topping was salmon—her favorite. Saying her thanks, she immediately started to dig in. "Hey, Inuyasha!" The dog demon as well as the rest of the group, besides Keiame, turned to Kagome. "Should we take the day off?"

"The day off?" Inuyasha looked as if him was about to protest such an outlandish request.

"Yeah, our friend must be exhausted since everything is so new," Kagome explained. The supposed 'friend' had not looked up from her breakfast. She was too busy drinking the broth from her bowl. "I thought we can take it easy today."

"I see. You're so nice, Kagome! I agree!" Shippo enthusiastically nodded his head.

"But I don't think it's a good idea for us to split up."

A new voice entered the conversation just as Keiame set her bowl on the floor. She wiped her upper lip with the back of her hand. "That sounds like that little flea demon…" Inuyasha flatly said that his name was Myoga. Keiame only shrugged. "It doesn't make a difference to me." The old demon began to explain why he suggested that the group not split up individually. "So we're making teams of two, I take it?" The teen sighed heavily as she rubbed her stomach. Kagome shook her head at the unsightly image.

"Keiame, who do you want to travel with today?" she questioned.

"Well… Kakuju did say I had to get to know you guys better in order to effectively use the Shikigami, so I guess I'll go with the strongest member today." Inuyasha stood up as if his name _was_ 'the strongest.' Keiame let a smirk cross her face. "But I think it'll be best if I work with the weakest, so she'll be stronger in battle."

"Hey!" Kagome exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"Well, since that's settled, I'm taking a nap!" Inuyasha stood up and walked out. Shippo followed after him, saying that he would do the same.

Kagome turned to Keiame with a forced smile. "We should go, too." The schoolgirl stood and headed for the door. Well, technically, there wasn't a door there, but… "Let's go!" Keiame released a heavy sigh as she stood up as well. "You don't have to sound so reluctant, you know!" The teen waved off Kagome's comment as she followed her out the door. "So anyway, I'm thinking I should could something healthy. No one has been eating well lately." Keiame locked her fingers behind her head. She had to admit that Kagome _was_ a nice person. Still an idiot, but a nice person none the less. "Could you get some potatoes and onions from the garden?"

"I'd be happy to!" Keiame's smile turned sour. "If I knew where the garden _was_!"

"Right, right—sorry! I keep forgetting you're not from around here!" The schoolgirl giggled cutely, and then gave directions on how to get to the garden.

Huffing, Keiame turned to go. This was something she had to do. If she was going to make it through this chaotic dream, then she could at least get along with the people trying to help her. Kagome, out of all of them, was the one to receive the worst of Keiame's words. Having this time with Kagome would hopefully make the girl more tolerable. After the Shikigami wielder finished picking the vegetables, she returned to the resting point. Inside, she heard the sounding of chopping.

She went in, showing the vegetables that she picked. "Here, you go," Keiame dropped the items next to Kagome. She turned with a wooden spoon in her head and a bright yellow apron. "Where the hell did you get that apron?"

"Silly, I always carry around the essentials!" Kagome smiled brightly. Since when does a yellow apron qualify as essential in the feudal friggin' era? "I think we're going to have to do a lot of traveling tomorrow, so I decided to make bento boxes for everyone." Well, wasn't she kind? "What are you staring at?"

"Your rare cause of brilliance." The smile on Kagome's face stretched fake. "Anyway, I'll help out, I guess. I do most of the cooking at my house."

"Of course you will! Why do you think I called you?" Keiame's eye twitched. Kind, her ass! Talk about _rude_! "Now, take those radishes." She made a grab for the said vegetable. "No, not those! Those are carrots!"

"I wasn't going for the carrots, moron!"

"If you have time to retort, then you have time to work!"

"What are you—a slave driver!"

"Next, you can chop wood and get a fire started. Then you can bring water from the river." Kagome seemed to miss the incredulous look she was receiving. "Oh yeah, and wash the dirty pots. And then-" Before she had finished giving out the orders, Keiame had picked up a tomato and hurled it at Kagome. It exploded when it collided with the schoolgirl's chest. Kagome stared blankly as the juice and ruined tomato slid down her clothes before going splat on the floor. "Y-Y-You…!"

"Sorry," she said. Keiame wasn't really sorry. "I have this weird thing about authority. It was a reflex."

Kagome twitched all over. Without much of a warning, the spoon flew from the girl's hand. The handle nailed Keiame right on the forehead. Yelping in surprise, she reached up and covered her red forehead. She glared at the smug looking Kagome. Keiame then chucked a potato. Kagome jumped back, avoiding the brown oval. The two girls picked up various vegetables and began to throw them at one another as if it was war.

The scene appeared to be quite comical by the time Inuyasha and Shippo entered. "Hey, what's going on?" The dog demon rubbed his eye and yawned. "Why you throwing things?" The two girls halted. Their arms froze in mid air. At the same time, their eyes moved to the two demons. Inuyasha stepped back because of the weird gleam in their eyes. "_Uh_… I'll just come back later."

"Oh, no you don't!" they exclaimed. Inuyasha was pulled to Kagome's side while Shippo was yanked to Keiame's side. "Bring it on, retards!"

"We'll see who the retard will be!" Kagome began to throw items again, yelling at Inuyasha to do the same. On the other side, Keiame did the same. The group of four threw, dodged, blocked, and countered against each other. By the time Kaede had returned, her home was completely ruined. But despite getting yelled at and sleeping outside, Keiame had a fun time with Kagome.

She gained a stronger friendship with all three of them.


	5. Chapter 5

Keiame sat up, rubbing the back of her neck. Her whole body felt sore. Ducking and dodging, and then being chewed out by an old woman had finally taken its toll. In addition to that, they had been forced to sleep outside. Who knew old people harbored grudges? Yawning, she looked around. Kagome and Shippo were still asleep, cuddling against each other. Her eyes shifted upward. Inuyasha was on the roof of Kaede's house, one leg dangling over the edge. The schoolgirl yawned again before standing. She stretched her body up, and then bent over, almost touching her toes. She continued to stretch for another few minutes before she slapped her cheeks. During this time, none of the three sleeping people had bothered to get up.

Stifling a laugh, Keiame inhaled deeply, and then released. "I'M HUNGRY!" Her shout caused the three to abruptly awaken. Inuyasha even fell from the roof. "_Haha_! It's my own version of sit boy." She pointed a finger as she laughed at the angry half-demon. Inuyasha growled and almost took a shot at her. However, Kagome stood up with Shippo in her arms. She appeared quite aggravated, yet chose not lash out like her half-demon companion.

"What's the big idea, Keiame?" she asked, and then yawned.

"I'm pretty sure I woke the entire village, so what I said should have been heard by your ears," Keiame retorted. "Let's get something to eat." The schoolgirl suddenly flinched, causing the three to stare, concerned. "I've got to pee." Quickly, she took off, leaving behind a twitching trio. Kagome sighed heavily.

"Can you believe it's only been two days?" she muttered. "Feels like forever."

"Yeah, and we're no closer to figuring out how she got here or how to send her back." Inuyasha crossed his arms and snorted. "Though, I guess she does have her uses." The half-demon stretched and yawned. "And according to that old man, she's going to get a whole lot better, too." Kagome nodded in agreement. She was about to say something, but a scream interrupted. "That sounded like Keiame!" The three hurriedly headed over to where the scream had come from. What they saw was the strange schoolgirl near the entrance to the village. However, there was a large man holding onto her wrist. He looked terribly upset—probably something Keiame had said to him.

"Let me go, fatass!"

Point proven.

Inuyasha and the others rushed over to the two. "Stop calling me that! I'm just big-boned, damnit!" The man tightened his hold on Keiame, causing her to scream out again. Obviously in pain, Inuyasha decided to step in for her. He yanked the man away from his comrade and directed a glare in his direction. The large man gasped and stumbled back. "Wh-What?" he stammered, beady eyes darting to and fro, most likely looking for an escape route. Instead of giving an explanation, the half-demon turned his eyes to Keiame, who was in the middle of giving the man her middle finger.

"Keiame, what the hell?"

"Don't look at me like that! He's the one who grabbed me first!" she retorted. "He was ranting and raving about cakes, and then all of a sudden he says he's seen me somewhere before!"

"You're the rude one who called me fat for no reason!"

"It's not for no reason! New flash, idiot—you're _fat_!"

The man attempted to lunge at the girl, but Inuyasha held him back. "Wait a minute! You've seen her somewhere before?" he questioned. "Where was this?" The man's eyebrows furrowed as he continued to glare at Keiame. She only stuck her tongue out. Finally, he released a 'that's it!' type of gasp and pointed a finger. He then stated that he had seen her in Kasasagi Town. Unfortunately, Keiame had never been to such a town, and so either the fool was lying or delusional. Either way, Kagome had wanted to check it out. So after talking to Kaede about it, she advised them to follow Kagome's suggestion. The old woman probably wanted the three out of her home before another food fight could break out. Poor paranoid woman.

Keiame sighed heavily, forcing her body to keep moving. "On the road again~! I'm so mad to be on the road again~!" The others had just decided to ignore her for the rest of the trip. Apparently, it would take a few hours to get to Kasasagi Town, and they had only been traveling for a little over half that time. Along the way, the others had seemed to grow stronger. Of course, she did, too. Keiame grinned. She now had an attack that was long-ranged, so she didn't have to go near those icky demons they had and would encounter. Those creepy, katana-wielding scare crows were horrible to deal with up close. Because of them, she and Kagome had gotten hurt numerous times. Keiame scowled just thinking about it. Luckily, the retard was such a good healer or everyone would still be bleeding. "_Argh_! This is taking forever! When are we going to get there?" She crossed her arms, huffing.

"How about we play a game to pass the time?" Kagome wearily suggested. She was tired of her fellow comrade ranting. Awhile back, Myoga had commented on their fortune. He was right. There hadn't been a demon encounter in quite some time. She was happy for that, but Keiame still complained. The green-clad schoolgirl tapped her chin. "But what can we play while walking? Oh, I know! How about I Spy?"

"No!" Keiame protested. "All I see is trees, dirt, and grass!" With a roll of her eyes, Kagome continued listing off suggestions. Keiame also continued to dismiss them. That took about an hour off the trip. However, Inuyasha was far from pleased.

"Would you two knock it off?" he shouted. "I can barely concentrate on sniffing out demons with you two going back and forth like that!" Both schoolgirls glared his way, causing the half-demon to falter in his step. He had felt chills go up his spine. "Look—just pick a stupid game already!"

"_Hm_… My mom used to take me and Souta to the store, but we would walk. To get rid of our boredom, she told us to play 'Poetry on the Go.' It was really fun."

"Sounds stupid," Keiame remarked. Because of that, Kagome practically shot fire from her eyes at her. "But explain away… _Jeez_." Kagome cleared her throat, and then began to explain. The game involved a simple sentence said by one person. The game continued with another person using an end rhyme. "Whoa… Your mom's into hip-hop? I wonder why you turned out so bad." Again, Keiame was glared at. And again, Keiame didn't care. "I like Banana Ice! Maybe me and your mom could-"

"Just play the game, already!" Inuyasha snarled.

"_Um_… I guess I'll start," Kagome began.

"Man, Inuyasha, please don't fart!" Keiame waved a hand in front of her nose as if she smelled something foul.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Sorry, sorry! I was just giving a shot out!"

"_Oooh_! I get it!" Shippo exclaimed. "I wanna play, too!" His eyebrows furrowed, trying to come up with a good sentence. "I like candy!"

"Well, isn't that dandy?" Kagome smiled. She was more than a little relieved this game had managed to distract Keiame from ranting. The Shikigami user seemed pretty excited about the game.

"I feel like I'm at my peak!"

"Don't get cocky. You're still pretty weak." Even Inuyasha had joined in, but that was probably because he wanted to spite Keiame. The girl whirled around, sticking out her tongue. "We all know I'm the strongest one on the team!"

"So a pitiful fool can dream?" Keiame retorted.

"Why you-"

"Inuyasha, you're about to step in poo!"

"_Hahaha_! That was funny!" Shippo laughed out. Keiame grinned and plucked the fox demon from Kagome's shoulder. She hugged him, pressing him close to her chest.

"Oh, Shippo—my sweet honey!" She planted a kiss on his forehead. The young demon immediately swatted at her sign of affection, causing Keiame to laugh loudly.

"Wow, Keiame, you're really good at this!" Kagome complimented.

"I know right? It's total bliss!" She tossed Shippo over to the girl. "But I am happy about there being no signs of demons."

"You just jinxed us! There are demons!"

"Inuyasha, I already used that one. Play the game right you moron."

"Maybe you shouldn't egg him on?" Kagome muttered.

"Stop playing the game! I'm serious!"

"_Somebody's_ delirious," Keiame rolled her eyes. She then stiffened, hearing the sound of roars. Three demons came out of nowhere! Kagome screamed, Shippo whimpered, and Inuyasha growled right back. Keiame, as the fearless fighter of the group, knew exactly what to do. "Oh God! RUN!" However, before she could escape, she was grabbed by the half-demon and told to get in her place. "Do you not see those two _giant worms_ in front of us? Don't even get me started on that one-eyed thing in the middle!" Instead of retorting, Inuyasha readied his sword, and attacked the said one-eyed demon. As usual, the demon froze from the swipe of Inuyasha's sword, and then disappeared. Begrudgingly, Keiame readied her attack as well. "Oh flame, burning bright…" She felt the familiar feeling of the Shikigami spread through her. "Get these fuckers out of my sight!" As if she were throwing a baseball, she hurled her attack at one of the worms.

The poor thing was overwhelmed by her red light. It disappeared soon after the attack ended. Keiame smirked and snapped her fingers. The last of the demons tried to attack Kagome. Fortunately, the girl managed to dodge the attack by falling to the ground. Keiame shook her head, watching the girl get up with a groan. One would think she would be better at dodging things since she's been here in this time longer than Keiame. But then again, Kagome was a retard. "I'm fine!" she exclaimed, loading an arrow. "Hit the mark!" Her arrow pierced the worm, pinning it in place. Shippo would finish it off.

"**Fire Bombs**!" Many firecrackers were launched at the demon, causing it to cry out in pain. Then, it, too, disappeared. "_Ah ha ha ha_! It's all thanks to me!"

"Good job, Shippo!" Kagome sighed in relief. "Glad that's over." Inuyasha returned his sword to its sheath. "Keiame, did you really have to curse like that?" The girl only grinned at the chastising tone.

"Oh please! At least I didn't fall on my ass!" she replied with a shrug. Blushing, Kagome turned away from Keiame and crossed her arms. "So anyway, how far away is the town now?" She watched the half-demon of the group sniff the air.

"Actually, it's not that far now," he answered. "We should be there in five minutes."

True to his nose, the group found themselves at the entrance to Kasasagi Town. It was a pretty big place compared to the last village. The sounds of people made Keiame feel a little more comfortable. It was almost as if she was back in her time, coming from school. And then she was brought back by Kagome once again stating the obvious. She even continued by sounding like a salesperson, telling the group how great it was to travelers. Keiame honestly tried to not roll her eyes this time. It didn't work. Kagome then suggested that the group temporarily split up to ask questions concerning the lookalike since there were so many people in the town. With a nod, Keiame agreed.

And so, the three went ahead, leaving the girl standing by herself. Shrugging, she entered the town as well. Man, were they ever fast! She couldn't even see the others anymore. "Oh well…! Better start twin hunting!" Determined, Keiame spoke with the first person she saw. Because of that, her determination quickly diminished. What did she care about some guy's dream business? Rolling her eyes, she walked further into the town, ignoring pretty much anyone who looked clueless. Her time would be wasted if she did something like that. She did speak to a samurai, but all he had to say was something about his stomach. Scoffing, she walked further. "Young lady!" A male's voice called out to her. Unfortunately, he wasn't cute at all. "Hey!" He seemed highly offended that he was ignored.

"Sorry, I can't talk to strangers!"

"No, no! I'm just warning you that the path you're taking will seem like a maze! Don't get lost!"

Keiame stopped and blinked. Her head turned towards the man. "Well, that seems ominous, don't you think?" she asked. "Jeez…!" She turned back around and continued in the direction she was going. She heard the man's grumbles, but simply ignored them. It wasn't long before she came across another man. He told her the way to get to the headman's house. _"Hm… That could be good to check out, right?"_ she thought. Of course the headman of the village would know anyone strange came to his village. After all, her clothes weren't normal in this time. He would definitely know. Feeling generous, Keiame thanked the man and took his directions.

Thank goodness she didn't take another route! The first guy was right! This place did seem to be like a maze. There were turns at every corner. A person could get lost like this. She had already passed an old man who was searching for his wife. Keiame shook her head and continued on. She would have helped if it didn't seem to time-consuming. Besides, the old man didn't look like a tourist. He would find his old wife eventually. The schoolgirl stopped and looked up. "This certainly seems like the place," she muttered. She resumed her walk until she was in front of the gatekeeper. "Hello," she greeted.

"This is the headman's house," the man stated.

"Oh, thank you! I was going to be pissed if that guy gave me the wrong directions!" Keiame wiped the imaginary sweat from her forehead. She grinned at the man, but his eyes squinted almost as if he were suspicious. "What's up with you?"

"What? You look familiar," he said.

"Oh? You've seen my face before?" Keiame asked. Yes! She had finally found someone who could potentially lead her to her mysterious twin. Suck on that, Inuyasha! However, her excitement slowly ebbed away. The man gave her a blank look, and he continued to do that for a full minute. Slightly freaked, she tried to further inquire.

"This is the headman's house," he repeated. "What? You look familiar!"

"Son of a bitch!"

Growling, Keiame stomped away. He was just like all the other villagers she had the utmost pleasure of speaking to. Note the sarcasm please. Why did these people feel the need to repeat themselves like they were just filler characters? It seriously drove Keiame insane. Grumbling to herself, she didn't even bother trying to speak with anyone else. However, a board did catch her attention. She went over to it, narrowing her eyes. But before she could take a good look at the message board, the man beside her stole her attention. "Hey… I've seen you somewhere before," he told her. Keiame raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to pick me up? Because honestly—no chance in hell."

"No, you face—I've definitely seen it…" His eyes suddenly grew wide as if it had just come to him. "You're the boy from the wanted poster!" he shouted, pointing a finger. Keiame's eyebrow twitched.

"What the hell do you mean? I'm not even a _boy_!" The man seemed to ignore the logic she had just given him. He screamed and shouted for the guards, causing other villagers to get involved. They all pointed and whispered to themselves. Keiame suddenly found herself surrounded by men in armor. "Hold on!" She waved her hands in front of her. "This is all a misunderstanding! I don't have a penis!"

"Come here!" One of the guards yanked on her arm and bent it into a painful position.

"_OW_! How can you do this to a lady?" Keiame screamed as they dragged her away. Moments later, she was thrown in front of who she assumed was the headman of the village. He had an air of authority about him. He looked important, too. Slowly, she moved to stand. She glared at the one who had manhandled her like some common criminal. "Asshole!" she hissed. The guard only glared back at her.

"Well, well, well," the headman's voice caused her to turn her head back. "It's the girl from the wanted poster."

"I thought it was a _boy_! Now it's a girl?" Keiame shook her head several times. "You can't just apprehend me just because of a resemblance! Haven't you people heard of twins?" Yes, she was pretty hysterical. This was the first time she had been arrested. All the crazy stuff she had done, and she had gotten arrested for something she didn't even do! That leader of the girl biker gang would be so disappointed and probably not want her to join when she became seventeen. The horror…! "If you don't have evidence than I demand that you release me this instant!"

"I don't know about evidence, but Kagura definitely wants us to catch you," the headman replied. Keiame blinked.

"Kagura…? I do not know who this Kagura is, but she sounds badass," she commented.

"You _wouldn't_ know her! She's a messenger from the castle!"

"Well, excuse the _hell outta me_!" Keiame almost managed a snarl. She would need to work on it, though. "Your castle messenger must have made a mistake because I haven't done anything _illegal_!"

"Are you crazy? The messenger made a mistake? The messenger _never_ mistakes!" Someone was a little _too_ passionate about the messenger. "No way! It's impossible! Stop your strange talk, and wait in jail until Kagura arrives!"

"What? No! That's inhumane!" She was grabbed from behind and dragged away. Keiame resisted by digging her heels into the ground—a way to show that she wasn't giving up without a fight. That only served to create mini trenches in the dirt. "I know my _rights_!"

0~0

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen… Nobody knows my sorrow~!"

Keiame wearily looked out of her jail cell. The sun was beginning to set. The others were bound to come looking for her, right? The girl let out a cross behind a whimper and a scoff. "Yeah right! They're probably just standing there, looking like retards, waiting for me to show up!" Her luck was most horrible and so she cried out her frustrations. "Why did I have to meet such dumb pe-" The schoolgirl stopped. Mouth hanging open, she turned her head to the side. She hadn't noticed before, but the stone wall to the left was sparkling. She supposed she didn't notice earlier because it was still so bright, but the shadows the setting sun was causing made it all too clear. "Serpent rock? No—it's Serpentine…"

She stood up, pulling her arms from the wooden pillars. Blinking, she got closer to the sparkling wall. It was definitely that magical rock Kakuju had pointed out to her before. She could… _break out_. "Oh shit! Prison break!" Wasting no time, Keiame reared her fist back. "Give it up, Shikigami!" She launched her fist forward, pulverizing the wall in front of her. "That's how it's done!" Snapping her fingers, she went through the opening she had just created.

Luckily, no one seemed to hear the loud explosion she had caused. Humming the Mission Impossible theme, Keiame succeeded in finding the exit to the headman's house. There were no guards posted anywhere. She shook her head. Freaking retards were everywhere it seemed. Her eyes turned left and right. If she went back over to the poster, they were bound to call her out again, so it was best to take the alley way again. If she remembered correctly, all she had to do was follow the same directions yet in the opposite direction.

It didn't take that long to reach the same man who had given her directions in the first place. Keiame breathed a sigh of relief, and then began running. Her lungs totally disagreed with the rapid movement, but she was livid. Terribly so—and she was going to take it out on her familiar retards. Finally, she reached her destination. The three turned to face her, looking quite surprised. She freaking _knew_ it! Of course! They were too dumb to think to _look_ for her! "Oh great! You're here!" Kagome had the nerve to say.

"Hey, are you okay?" Inuyasha, too, had a lot of nerve.

Keiame place a hand over her chest, willing her heart's speed to return to its normal rate. Slowly, she released a breath, and then let them have it. "Why would you leave me by myself!" she screeched, causing the others to rear their heads back. "I don't know this place! Did you know they just throw people in jail here? _I do_! I had to go Tsunade on their asses!" Inuyasha blinked rapidly while Kagome's jaw dropped. Heaving deep breaths, Keiame finally calmed herself. She crossed her arms. "So I am demanding that compensation be given to me!"

"So they did mistake you?" Shippo asked. "There are wanted posters of you everywhere."

"_Obviously_ it's not me!" Keiame stressed. "Some badass chick called Kagura is going around telling people to find and _capture_ me! Oooh! She don't know me! I'm gonna cut-"

"Kagura?" Inuyasha shouted, interrupting. "Did you say Kagura?"

"I'm pretty sure you heard me!" she replied. "Don't be a dumbass, Inuyasha." Before the half-demon could strike the girl's head, Kagome spoke up.

"Remember when I told you about Shikon Jewel?" she questioned. Stiffly, Keiame nodded her head. "There's an evil demon named Naraku and he's looking for the shards, too."

"He hurts and bullies!" Shippo gave his commentary. "He's evil!"

"I've fought him many times, but he always gets away. He's the most evil demon of them all," Inuyasha said.

"And what does this have to do with Kagura?" Keiame asked.

"Kagura is Naraku's female incarnation," Kagome supplied.

"…" The schoolgirl produced a blank look. "What?" she finally managed.

"She uses the wind and possesses the dead," Inuyasha continued the explanation, ignoring the look on his comrade's face. "She's disgusting."

"That was a rude thing to say," Keiame remarked.

"If they're going so far as to put up wanted posters then maybe they have something to do with you coming to this time," Kagome put forward.

"Since Kagura's on her way here, I think we should stick around and wait. She could lead us to Naraku." Inuyasha nodded his head. Already his mind was made up. "I say we go to the headman's place and wait for her."

"And I say you're an idiot!" Keiame nearly growled. "I'm not going back to that place! Especially if _evil people_ are trying to find me! I like my soul where it is, thank you!" The three exchanged a look that she couldn't read. Then they all sighed in unison.

"Hey, there could be an award for your capture, you know?" Kagome said.

"I'm not going to fall for that twice!"

"_And_ since it's from the village's headman, the reward's bound to be great," Inuyasha continued. Keiame narrowed her eyes.

"…"

"Plus we might find some valuables things in his house, and then sell them." Shippo was also in on it.

"Oh God damn it~!"

0~0

As Keiame thought, going back to the headman's house was a complete failure. As soon as she was sighted, guards came running after her. So now the group was on the edge of the town, trying to catch their breaths. Well, Inuyasha was just fine. And so was Shippo because he had hitched a ride on Kagome's shoulders. The two schoolgirls, however, were panting like hot dogs while they listened to the half-demon complain about running away. "Quiet, Inuyasha! They're human! It's not like you can fight them!" Kagome scolded once her airways returned to normal. "I guess we won't get to meet Kagura." The green-clad schoolgirl suddenly gasped. "Hey! We could always pretend to turn Keiame in! Like I said before!"

"Doesn't that sound a _little_ dangerous? Do you guys care about my safety at all?" Keiame's questions were ignored as the three discussed the battle plans. She couldn't say that she liked the atmosphere the three had going on. And when Kagome suddenly turned her way with this sick grin on her face, that just took the cake. Keiame stumbled back, holding her hands in front of her as if they were shielding her. "Hey, what's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?" Kagome inched towards her, looking similar to a possessed pervert. How she managed to pull that off, Keiame did _not_ want to know.

Kagome suddenly grabbed her and dragged her behind a shrine. Keiame was definitely getting tired of being dragged away. Before she knew it, she was dressed in different attire. She now wore a traditional kimono that looked similar to Inuyasha's but it was green. Her eye twitched as she stared down at herself. Then her narrowed eyes shifted back up to the grinning Kagome, who was in the process of folding her uniform. "How do you like that? Shippo's going to take your place."

"This is total bullshit!"

"Yes, yes," Kagome waved off her comment and came out from behind the shrine, forcing Keiame to follow her. Standing beside Inuyasha was a clone of her, uniform and all. _Ah_—she had seen this before. Shippo had used his Art of Transformation like he had with Kagome earlier on. "We're ready!"

"We're ready, too!" Shippo exclaimed. Keiame found herself rolling her eyes. It would seem that Inuyasha had just given the child a pep talk. And so with half the group disguised, they made their way back to the headman's house. Surprise, surprise—there was no guard this time. Keiame shook her head at this messed up world she was stuck in. It was decided that Inuyasha stay behind while she and Kagome delivered Shippo to the authorities. The guard suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked them to state their business. "I came to turn him in," Kagome answered.

Keiame had to bite her lip in order to keep from lashing out at Kagome. Why did people insist on calling her male? Sure, she didn't have the biggest rack, but she did have _something_! She was only slightly smaller than Kagome was, damn it! The next person that called her a boy was definitely going to get backhanded. With a resolute nod, the girl finally began paying attention again. Apparently, the guard believed their story and allowed them access to the headman's house.

The three walked in, but a prickly feeling came over Keiame. Her shoulders tensed as she heard a weird noise. Her sudden halt in movement made Kagome and Shippo turn around. "You guys don't hear that?" she asked. Her eyes darted around, trying to find the source of the noise. "It sounds like-" She finally found the source. "-GIANT MUTANT BEES ON STEROIDS!" A finger was pointed in the direction of the large bee as the girl tried to make her escape. Kagome, seeing this coming, grabbed the back of her clothes.

"It's Saimyosho!" she exclaimed. The demon minion flew away, giving Keiame a chance to calm down. "It's the demonic bees that Naraku uses. If they're here, then Kagura must be, too." Kagome's eyes narrowed. "That probably means we've already been found out." As soon as those left her mouth, demons surrounded them. Before Keiame had the chance to scream, Inuyasha appeared. "Oh! Inuyasha!"

"I saw the Saimyosho fly by so I came back! It was just as I thought!" The half-demon cracked his knuckles. "Bring it on!" The others hurriedly ran to his side and the battle began. Inuyasha decided to unleash his attack first. "**Iron Reaver Soul Stealer**!" He went after the demon on the right. However, it did not disappear from the powerful attack. These demons must be stronger than the ones they had fought so far. The one of the left did some type of weird dance, and then launched a green mist in their direction.

"What kinda of useless attack was that?" Keiame ran forward, and then punched the demon on the right. Eyes expanding, she realized that she could not feel power flowing through her when her fist connected. The demon merely shrugged off her weakened attack and tried to swipe at her, but the girl managed to jump back. "What the hell? Why can't I use my power?"

"You've been sealed!" Kagome answered, loading an arrow.

"Sealed? They can _do_ that?"

Instead of answering again, the green-clad school girl unleashed her attack. "**Rapid Fire**!" Several arrows, instead of one, were shot forward. She managed to get both of the enemies. Because of her attack, both of the demons disappeared. "Thought we were soft, did you?" She sounded as surprised as everyone looked. "Hey, you don't have to show those expressions! I can do stuff, too!"

"No, no—that was great, Kagome," Keiame said. "I just hope it continues!"

"With her luck, I bet it won't," Inuyasha muttered, earning him a sit command. Once his punishment was over, he returned to his old self. "We're going in!" he snarled. "Let's move!" Keiame blinked at his recovery time, but she and the others followed him in as well.

"Kagome," she whispered to her fellow schoolgirl. "I think you doing that is causing him to lose brain cells!" Her remark was ignored. "Fine, ignore the consequences of your actions!"

"Help me…!" A muffled shout was heard. The group came to a screeching halt. What they saw was the headman surrounded by demons.

"Oh no! We have to do something!" Kagome exclaimed.

"No we don't! He's the one that locked me up in the first place! I say we leave him and head to Ka-"

"Reward. Money."

"What are you guys doing, standing around? We have to save him!" Keiame was quick to charge into battle. The others shook their heads. If they weren't so used to the girl's actions, they would have been disappointed. "Show some love, Shikigami!" The girl lifted her leg, and then hurled her light powers at the demon in the middle. The Salamander monk screamed as it was consumed by the light. Then it disappeared. "Yeah—that's what I'm talking about!" Shippo was up next. He leapt into the air.

"Here it goes!" He threw multiple bombs at the demons. "Take that!" The bombs exploded on impact. However, it wasn't enough to get rid of the two remaining demons. Inuyasha finished the heinous assault by using his ever power multi-attack.

"**Blades of Blood**!" The two remaining demons disappeared in the same manner they usually tended to die. Inuyasha laughed. "Maybe in ten years you'll have a chance at beating me!" Once it was deemed safe enough, the headman slowly walked over to the celebrating group.

"Thank you so much. I don't deserve your kindness," he said.

"You're damn right you don't," Keiame muttered. She narrowly dodged a head strike from Inuyasha, who had been the only one to hear her. "Oh, headman, it's totally fine," she spoke louder. The man did not notice the money signs in her eyes, but the others sure did. They all sighed. Trust her to make nice when there's money involved. "But what are you doing here?"

"I was tricked by that Kagura woman!" he said. "I had no idea the messenger from the castle was a _demon_!"

"_If this chick has anything other than brown or blue eyes, I'm going to come back and smack him,"_ Keiame thought, frowning.

"Where is she now?" Inuyasha questioned.

"She's just ahead. She tried to feed me to the demons!"

After thanking the headman and telling him to hide, Kagome turned to the others. "Let's finish this quickly," she said. The three nodded in agreement, and then actually entered the house. The place was pretty big so the group managed to get lost several times. However, they finally found the large concentration of Naraku's scent. Apparently, it was Kagura and not Naraku. Inuyasha then explained that all Naraku's incarnation had the same scent.

"Well that seems highly unfair," Keiame replied. The group entered the large room to find a woman dressed in a kimono. She wore her hair in a high pig-tail. Keiame had to admit that her green earrings were pretty cool, though. But she wore nothing on her feet. After Inuyasha called her out, Kagura turned around to face the group. Her painted lips smirked. Keiame deadpanned. Of course. Her eyes were _red_. How the heck didn't the headman know she was a demon when she had such an unnatural eye color? And her makeup was awesome. No human woman could pull that off and still look so cool. _"If I see him again,"_ she thought darkly.

"I thought I heard noises. It was you guys," Kagura murmured.

"Why are you trying to get me arrested?" Keiame shouted. The woman, apparently Naraku's female incarnation, turned to her. "Did you bring me to this horrible place full of retards? If so you'd better take me back!"

"Take you back…?" Kagura's smirk didn't disappear. "Now why would I do that?"

"Because I'm _threatening_ you!"

"How cute…"

"You're pathetic as always," Inuyasha said. Keiame's eyebrow twitched, not knowing if he was talking to Kagura or her. "I'm going to cut you to shreds!"

"Go ahead!" Kagura slightly raised her voice. "As always you're such a mutt."

"_Oooh_! No she didn't!" Keiame exclaimed. "Those are fighting words! Inuyasha, you're gonna let her talk to you like that?"

"Not on your life!" The half-demon growled. "The bitch is going down!"

"Bitch…?" Kagura hissed out. Her fan opened, and then she twirled, showing off her control of the wind. "**Dance of Blades**!" The wind cut into Inuyasha, causing Kagome to scream out his name. The force behind Kagura's wind attack had pushed the half-demon back as well. He hastily stood up, growling out.

"I'm fine!" he said, and then dug his claws into his bleeding flesh. "Let's see how you like this." He swiped at the air. His blood transformed into deadly weapons and flew toward Kagura and her two minions. "**Blades of Blood**!" His attack hit dead on. Kagura shrieked, but she wasn't down for the count yet. Keiame swallowed hard. It probably wasn't such a good idea to get anywhere near the wind demon at this point. Who knew what could happen? It was best to just stay back for now. She smacked her hands together, and then shot them forward.

"I call upon you, Shikigami!" Light emitted from her hands, and then, like a bullet, blasted forward towards Kagura. The female demon almost dodged, but the attack still hit her shoulder. She screamed out, cursing. Before she could retaliate, Shippo came in with his own attack.

"**Wheel of Fire**!" he shouted, throwing his multiple bombs. His powerful attack managed to send one of the winged skeletal demons to its premature demise. Then it was Kagome's turned. Instead of attacking, she went over to Inuyasha to heal his wounds.

"Thanks," he gruffly said, and then focused on Kagura again. The remaining demon flew towards Keiame, intending to scratch her with its claws. However, the girl had gotten quicker thanks to the other countless demons she had to fight. She rolled out of the way, missing the demon's physical attack by a hair. Admittedly, the thing was faster than those other demons because it had the power of flight. "Here I go!" Inuyasha lifted his sword. "**Wind Scar**!" The blinding yellow light traveled towards Kagura at an alarming speed. Fortunately, his attack caused a lot of damaged to the wind demon.

"Kagome!" Keiame shouted.

"Right!" The girl prepared an arrow.

"Let's show her how future girls handle things!" She raised her hands up high. "Shikigami! Fire it up!" Her aura seemed to growl and surround Kagome's weapon. The green-clad schoolgirl fired the projectile, sending it straight to Kagura. The woman screamed out again. The combination from the two girls had slammed her into the back wall. "We did it!" The winged demon disappeared. Badly injured, Kagura slowly stood, using the wall as support.

"Damn! How could I let this happen?" she growled.

"Are you ready to die, Kagura?" Inuyasha asked. Again, he lifted his sword. Then Kagome calmly reminded him that they had to question her. "Oh fine!" Before the interrogation could start, Keiame suddenly gasped and dropped to her knees. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

"Shikigami!" she blurted out. Out of nowhere, the group was thrown aside by the power of the red light. However, it was not from Keiame. Kagura seemed equally surprised.

"Utsugi…?" she murmured. A person, wearing a creepy looking mask, appeared. The mask covered not only the face, but the entire head as well. "Naraku has sent someone to help me. Don't expect any thanks."

"Stop!" Inuyasha demanded of the newcomer. "You'll be sorry if you get in my way." Kagome told him to be careful, saying that she didn't think it was a typical demon. "I don't care what it is! I'll destroy anything that gets in my way!" Again, his sword was lifted. "**Wind Scar**!" The powerful attack was unleashed. However, it seemed to have little—actually, it had no effect on the new person. Shippo exclaimed that it had been repelled. "Damn it! It didn't work?"

"You're wasting your time," Utsugi finally spoke. It was a woman's voice. "Now, it's my turn." Again, the woman used the power of Shikigami to wound Inuyasha. Despite the gash, the half-demo announced that tis a flesh wound. "Your wound… It's beautiful." That comment from the powerful woman caused multiple pairs of eyes to blink. "It's like the setting sun."

"_Aw_, damn it! We're dealing with a _psychopath_? Not fair!" Keiame exclaimed, pointing a finger. "I didn't sign up for this!"

"Are you the girl?" Utsugi set his sights on her. Eyes widening, Keiame froze. She did not like the sound of this. "I see. Kagura, I have completed my mission. I'm leaving." Then she just walked away, leaving Kagura to follow behind on a giant feather. No joke—she made her escape on a giant _feather_. The schoolgirl placed the back of her hand against her forehead, and then proceeded to swoon.

"I can't take this!" she cried. "First retards, then evil people! Now I have psychotic women after me? This just isn't fair!" Inuyasha sniffed, and then put away his sword. He then told her to stop complaining. He left the room, causing the others to follow. Outside, they met the headman again. He seemed relieved that the demons were 'defeated.' Keiame rolled her eyes. Both were still alive, so they definitely weren't defeated. Angry, Inuyasha didn't hold back from telling the man straight up what really happened. Because of the outburst, Kagome scolded him.

"Thank you for understanding. I had no idea that the messenger from the castle would be a demon," the headman said. Keiame twitched. "I'm terribly sorry for what happened to you."

"_That reminds me,"_ she thought, narrowing her eyes as Kagome told him not to worry about it. Before she could enact her revenge, the man pulled a bag from his sleeve. He handed it to Keiame. She could feel that it was money inside. Grinning, she patted the man on his shoulder. "All in a day's work!" she said. _"I won't punch his lights out now," _she thought. "Thanks for this!"

"No problem, no problem! I should be thanking you!" The headman gave one last smile, and then left the group to leave by themselves.

"Well, since it seems like we're done here," Kagome began. "Let's go back to Kaede's village."

"… Can I have my uniform back please?" Keiame asked. "I hate looking like Inuyasha!"

"Bite me, bitch!"

0~0

Thought I forgot about this story, did you?


	6. Chapter 6

Inuyasha was pissed. Why was he pissed? Obviously it was because of Keiame. The stupid girl was so annoying. Not only had she insulted his choice of clothing, but now she was doing her best to try to make him kill her. As soon as the group left Kasasagi, Keiame had begun to sing for no apparent reason. Inuyasha scowled down at the ground. Why did he have to pick up such an irritating person? Maybe he wouldn't have been so annoyed if she wouldn't sing in a _completely different language_. The Shikigami wielder had been singing the same song for five hours. And even though Kagome and Shippo did not understand nor comprehend the lyrics, they had learned it quite well and had joined Keiame in annoying the crap out of him. _For five hours_! It didn't help that he, too, knew the song. The three of them had gotten it stuck in his head. Occasionally, he would hum along. It drove him insane. Luckily though, the village was coming up. Once there, he would finally get some peace.

"Yeah…! One more time!" Keiame shouted. Then she kicked the song off again by the drum noise she made with her mouth. "We're no strangers to love~!"

"You know the rules, and so do I!" Shippo continued with a grin.

"A full commitment's what I'm thinking of," Kagome picked it up from there. Begrudgingly, Inuyasha did the same. He wasn't nearly as excited about it, though.

"You wouldn't get this from any other guy." The half-demon rolled his eyes, not believing he was actually participating in such ridiculous thing. The new addition to the group simply ignored his monotone.

"I~~ just wanna tell you how I'm feeling!" Keiame clasped her hands together and sang her heart out. She wasn't very good, but it was fun, so the others cheered on her. "Gotta make you understand!"

"Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down!" Shippo and Kagome sang in unison. "Never gonna run around and desert you!"

"Never gonna make you cry! Never gonna say goodbye!" Keiame continued. "Never gonna tell a lie… and _hurt you_!"

And so, the group carried on singing until they reached the entrance to Kaede's village. Kagome abruptly stopped singing, causing the others to stop as well. Her gaze was on two people Keiame had never seen before. "_Oh_!" Kagome seemed to know them, though. The group walked forward as the two—a male and female—moved towards them. The male seemed to be a monk for he was dressed in traditional two-piece robes. However, the material, which was blue and black, seemed to be extravagant. Monks weren't known for their clothing, but this guy looked as though he valued valuable things. He even wore jewelry. His short dark hair was tied in a pigtail. The female of the duo seemed a bit older than Keiame and Kagome. Though she looked quite young as well. She had brown eyes and long hair. Her makeup was simple—pink eye shadow. She was a very pretty girl. She wore a traditional kimono, along with a long green skirt.

"Hey, Kagome," the male greeted with a smile.

"Miroku! Sango! You're back!" Kagome returned the smile.

"We just got back," Sango replied.

"That sure took you awhile!" Inuyasha remarked.

"Don't say that, Inuyasha! We went through a lot!" The young monk's eyes drifted towards Keiame. He blinked in surprise as if he had just noticed her presence. "Hey, who's that?"

"Oh yeah," Kagome slightly turned. "This girl came from the pre-" At Keiame's fierce glare, the green-clad schoolgirl sighed and amended what she was going to say. "She's from the future, like me." The older female teenager made a sound of confusion.

"Hi," Keiame gave a small wave. "You are friends with Inuyasha and Kagome?" Both of the new arrivals nodded their heads. "My name is Kururugi Keiame. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gave a slight nod, but it was more or less in Sango's direction. "I hope we can get along." Kagome began to explain who they were. As she thought, this Miroku was a monk. While the girl was a _demon slayer_. _"What a badass occupation!"_ Keiame thought, grinning. _"I think I'm going to get along with her!"_ Like Inuyasha and Kagome, these two were after Naraku as well.

"I hope so, too," Miroku said.

"Nice to meet you," Sango responded.

"This kid doesn't look very strong, but she knows how to use the mysterious power of the Shikigami," Shippo commented. Miroku made an enlightened noise.

"Yes, be amazed! Stare in horror! For I can kill with _light_!" Used to her strange behavior, Kagome and Inuyasha rolled their eyes. Sango blinked. Shippo chuckled. And Miroku stepped towards her. "_Uh_… yes?"

"Will you be the mother of my children?" He had the nerve to say that with a straight face, too. Keiame stared back at him, blankly. At the moment, she was too much in shock to say anything. She heard Kagome call out his name as if scolding him. However, the two did not break eye contact. It was only after feeling his hand stroke her hip did the schoolgirl snap out of her trance. Keiame, unexpectedly, smiled up at the monk.

"You know, at this point, I have only one thing to say…" she began. Quicker than she had ever moved before, Keiame brought her hand up, backhanding Miroku across the face. "Bitch slap!"

"Oh snap!" The monk stumbled back. He had to use his staff to balance himself again. Stunned, he could only hold his red cheek. "Wh-What?"

"_Excuse_ you! What gives you the right to put your hands on me?" Keiame's smile turned into full on rage. She almost attacked him again, but Inuyasha put her in a headlock before she could. "Let me go! Every fiber of my being is begging and screaming for me to _destroy_ him!" Her arms stretched out, trying to, at least, scratch the monk's eyes out. _"Monk, my ass!"_ she hissed in thought. Kagome laughed nervously.

"Sorry about that, I guess I should have warned you guys. Keiame's a bit of a hot head," she murmured. "She's prone to violence."

"I like her," Sango replied, smirking smugly. She crossed her arms and glared darkly at the nearly weeping monk. "Serves you right," she told him. "Anyway, back to what we found out… We couldn't find anything specific concerning Naraku's whereabouts, but there are a lot of strange things happening at the castle."

"Yes," Miroku finally composed himself. "From what we've heard, all the cows on the castle grounds have disappeared." Keiame raised an eyebrow. Sure, that seemed strange enough, but really… No. "And all the people who've gone to pay their taxes have never come back." Okay, that sounded more urgent. "There are definitely a lot of strange things happening around the castle."

"Many demons were seen headed towards the castle as well," Sango put in.

"A bunch of demons, huh?" Inuyasha finally released Keiame from his hold. "This stinks of Naraku."

"So where is this castle?" she questioned. "If it is Naraku, he must be the mastermind behind this whole thing in bringing me here."

"_Ah_, you're interested as well?" Miroku asked. Keiame narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded nonetheless. "From here, it is best to go through Tsuzumi village."

"Fine, let's head to this village and get to this castle quickly," Keiame clenched her fist. "I'll make this Naraku pay for bringing me here!"

"We just got back, and we're off again already?" Miroku's shoulders slouched. "Busy, busy," he said. Keiame sighed heavily.

"I guess you're right…" Scoffing, she averted her eyes. "We just got back, too, after all."

"Thank you for being concerned about me," Miroku dipped his chin a bit. "You're very kind."

"It's not-"

"_HA_!" Inuyasha interrupted with a sarcastic laugh. "This girl is _far_ from kind!" He ignored the dark look being thrown his way. "After all, you just got the shit smacked outta ya!" Keiame crossed her arms, frowning. She still couldn't believe a stranger had groped her and a _monk_ no less! The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She had dealt with a pervert last year on the bus. After it was over… Well, the guy never attempted to do that again. In fact, there was no more bus groping on that certain route. She must have scared all the other perverts, too.

Before she could glare at Miroku again, Kaede made her appearance. "What?" She must have overheard the conversation. "Ye just got here and ye are already leaving? Don't ye want to rest a bit?" she asked. Why was she suddenly saying ye instead of you? No one else seemed to notice. Rolling her eyes, Keiame merely shook her head. Kagome nodded her head in agreement, saying that it probably was best to rest first. "I think so, too. Today ye all should take it easy and rest." The group followed the old priestess to her home, and quickly got situated around the square. Shippo and Kagome were sitting next to one another. Sango and Miroku took the side across from them. Inuyasha sat by himself at one side, and she herself sat across from him. Keiame blinked, eyeing the two-tailed cat on Sango's lap.

The girl noticed her gaze and explained that the cat was actually a demon. The small feline could transform and aid in battle. Keiame nodded in understanding. She wished she had some super cool pet that could transform. But alas, she wasn't from this era. "Master Inuyasha!" Myoga's voice caught her attention. She turned, staring at the half-demon. True to her ears, there was the small flea demon hopping on Inuyasha's shoulder. "We should take the day off!"

"_Huh_…? Take the day off?" As if he hadn't heard this before, the red-clad demon knitted his brow together, looking as if he was about to protest.

"What do you mean?" Miroku asked.

"Like the other day," Myoga explained. "Everyone can pair up with whoever they like."

"Yeah, we want to make sure our friend has a good time with everyone," Kagome said. Her brown eyes turned to Keiame. "So who do you want to-"

"I call Sango-chan!" she interrupted. Her smile seemed absolutely excited. The demon slayer blinked, and then forced a smile. _"Yes…! I can't wait!"_ Maybe she and Sango could be the best of friends. Hopefully, the older girl was not like Kagome, sounding stupid on occasion. Speaking of Kagome, she said she wanted to go for a walk.

"Come with me, Inuyasha!"

"Do I have to?" The half-demon seemed less than pleased with that idea. At her heated stare, he rolled his eyes. "Fine." Keiame chuckled, and then laughed out loud, pointing a finger at Inuyasha.

"I can see who the bitch is in that relationship!"

"Why you-!"

"Let's just go!" Kagome hastily grabbed the half-demon by his sleeve and dragged him out of the house. Miroku turned to Shippo, suggesting that they should cool off by the river. The little demon happily nodded his head. Keiame watched them leave, glaring daggers at the monk's back. Sango snapped her out of that, though. She stood up, heading for the door.

"We can't just sit around here. Let's go," she said. The remaining schoolgirl quickly stood, following the demon slayer out. For awhile, the two of them walked in silence. Keiame supposed it was a bit awkward. They were perfect strangers at the moment. The air around them was uncomfortable. Sango had even quickened her pace a few times so now she was ahead. Keiame almost sighed, staring down at the ground. This was going nowhere quickly. She needed something to break the ice. Otherwise, she would never be a great friend to a badass like Sango.

Her eyes shifted up. At that very moment, the wind picked up, blowing Sango's long hair this way and that. "_Ah_…" Keiame stopped to stare. "Hey, Sango-chan." The demon slayer, hearing her name, stopped and turned around. Her eyes were inquiring, causing the younger girl to continue. "Not to sound like a creep, but… your hair is great."

"Huh? Well, that's out of the blue." Despite saying that, Sango smiled. Her hand brushed against her bangs. "Is it really?" she asked.

"Yeah. You slay demons, but your hair looks soft and shiny," Keiame commented. Sango accepted the compliment. Her smile had grown a tiny bit wider. The schoolgirl made her way to her, taking a closer look. "Mine isn't at all like yours. Then again, I don't take much care of it, unless it's combing. Since I've got here, I haven't even been able to do that. Who knows what my hair looks like now!" Keiame laughed. Sango hesitantly joined in. Grinning, she reached out to touch the older girl's hair. Sango blinked, allowing the touch, but questioning her motives. "I've always wanted long hair. Let me style yours!" Without hearing an answer, Keiame took Sango by the hand, leading her to a meadow. Once there, she made the demon slayer sit. "Don't move, Sango-chan. I'll do something real nice."

The older girl raised a brow, yet didn't protest. After many minutes of twisting, combing, and twirling Sango's long brown hair, Keiame pulled back, satisfied. It was a messy bun held together by two pins, but it Sango made it look good on her. The demon slayer lightly touched the back of her neck, not used to having her neck exposed like this. "_Um_… well…" She sounded a bit nervous. "I don't think it really suits me."

"Don't be modest! You're so pretty! Gorgeous! Beautiful!" Keiame rebutted. Sango shifted her eyes to the ground, a small smile on her face. "Wearing your hair like this, guys would be stumbling and falling as they try to get a good look at you. I'm sure you make _all_ the girls jealous." A blush stained the older girl's cheeks. "Come on, let's go show you off!"

"Wh-What? That isn't necessary!"

Keiame simply ignored the demon slayer's protest and dragged her towards the village so that she could be seen. As expected, many males turned and looked her way. Some of the young men even whistled. The blush seemed to stain on Sango's face as Keiame continued to pull her along. Finally, the two teen girls found someone. It was Inuyasha, and he looked pissed. "Hey, what's wrong?" The schoolgirl stopped in front of him. She looked around. There was no sign of the other retard. "Where's Kagome? Weren't you two supposed to be walking?" The half demon's eyebrows knitted together, recalling what had happened.

"We _were_," he said hotly. "But then she starts saying how I'm _insensitive_! It was just a bug bite! The little girl would be fine! But Kagome started yelling at me." He scoffed and crossed his arms. "I was about to go give her this medicine so she wouldn't sit me later on."

"_Ahh_—yeah, I don't care," Keiame said. This only caused the half demon to scowl. "But look at Sango-chan! Isn't she pretty?" The schoolgirl pushed the embarrassed demon slayer in front of her. Inuyasha blinked in surprised. _This_ was Sango? He had never seen her like this before. He stepped closer to her, sniffing at her. Scandalized, the young woman took a step back.

"Inuyasha…!" she cried. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, I wasn't sure for a moment!" he murmured. Keiame grinned, locking her fingers behind her. She leaned for a bit, asking for Inuyasha's opinion again. He tilted his head, still staring. "Well, it's not bad," he finally said. "You look different. I almost didn't recognize you. You look good." Realizing that he had just complimented someone, Inuyasha quickly shifted his eyes on something else. "I mean… for a demon slayer," he finished lamely. Said demon slayer still flushed and turned her eyes to the ground. The schoolgirl did not miss it.

"See, I _told_ you!" Keiame wrapped an arm around Sango's shoulder. She grinned again. "Look who brings all the boys to the yard!"

"Ke-Keiame!" Sango's blush took on a deeper color. "Th-That's it! I'm taking it down!" The demon slayer shrugged the younger girl's arm from her shoulder, and then stomped forward to Kaede's home. Unperturbed by her behavior, Keiame ran after the demon slayer, saying that she would help. "Fine! But no more doing this!" The younger girl giggled. Despite the awkward moments, Keiame ended up having a fun time with Sango. She gained a stronger friendship because of it.

0~0

It was the next day and the group was heading out. Before they left, Kaede had handed hakama to Keiame, saying that it would be a long journey and a change of clothes would be necessary. For some reason, the skeptical schoolgirl couldn't shake the word 'plot device' from her head. Still, she thanked the old woman, and the group headed out. Tsuzumi village was their destination. According to Miroku, the trip would take hours to reach the village. Oh joy… It had already been three hours into the journey. Along the way, the group met up with Kakuju. The old man randomly handed Miroku a talisman, and then disappeared. Seriously, that's what happened. Keiame couldn't understand how Miroku knew Kakuju already, but she had decided not to ask. She didn't like the perverted monk, so she would definitely steer clear of him if she could help it.

Luckily, the demons in the area seemed to be in hiding because there were no sightings of them so far. This development both excited and depressed the heroine. She was glad for the lack of danger, but at the same time she wanted to see Sango, a demon slayer, in action. The older girl _had_ to kickass. Anticipation is what she felt. Keiame was too busy grinning that she didn't notice the danger in her way. "_Ouch_!" She had stepped on something very sharp and it went right through her shoe and sock, and pierced her skin. "Son of a bit-"

"Are you alright?" Miroku asked. He walked over as Keiame lifted and held her foot with both hands. "Oh no! There's a thorn in your foot. Let me take it out." The monk actually reached forward.

"Not on your life, asshole!" she screeched. Hoping on one foot, she removed her shoe, and then her sock. "I'll get it myself." Miroku pouted, but she didn't pay any attention. Inuyasha crossed his arms, annoyed that the group had to stop. "Pipe down, dog boy. I'll get it out in a second."

"I could remove it-"

"Shut up, you dirty monk!"

"_Hm_…" Sango crossed her arms and looked away. There was a small frown on her face. Clearly, she was irritated as well, but for a different reason than Inuyasha. Finally, Keiame took out the thorn and quickly put her shoe back on. She was glad that it wasn't bleeding.

"Let's keep going," she said.

"Took you long enough," Inuyasha grumbled. The group continued to walk. It was an hour later that another reluctant encounter with the monk took place. This time, it was concerning Sango's giant weapon. The group had stopped near a bridge to cool off by the river. Keiame had commented how strong the older girl was on the count that her Hiraikotsu looked so heavy. Then she had remarked that she might want to try. Miroku had offered to teach her along with Sango. Before Keiame had a chance to rudely refuse, she had noticed the slight attitude coming from the demon slayer. Almost as if the older girl did not want to teach her—like she didn't like her.

This brought on the frown Keiame was currently sporting. She had thought she and Sango had a fun time and gained a stronger friendship as well. However, it seemed like the only person she looked up to in this forsaken world was ignoring her. _"But what did I do?" _Keiame thought. Her arms were crossed. She walked with her eyes closed and her brow furrowed. _"Sango-chan's mad at me for some reason, and I don't know why."_

"Keiame, watch out!" Inuyasha shouted. His loud voice caused her eyes to snap open. Right in front of her was a large green demon with a spear. It was about to bring down its weapon onto her head. At this point, she couldn't even protect herself. Luckily, it was only the wood part of the weapon that struck her. Her shoulder would definitely have a bruise from that attack. Hastily, she ran back, screaming, to Inuyasha's side. The half demon dashed forward, sword held up. "Why you—_argh_!" His sword cut right through the demon that had attacked her. It died. Keiame blinked. She hadn't even realized that demons had decided to pop out of nowhere. There were two more of them—a badger and a skeletal snake/bird thing.

"_Ha_!" Sango rushed forward. Her large boomerang came down upon the skeletal demon's head. "Thank you, sir—_yaah_!" He cried out, and then disappeared. Wow… Sango was indeed strong. Keiame nodded her head, focusing on the last demon. Her right hand gripped her injured shoulder, while her left hand took a swipe at the air.

"Shikigami, do your thing!" The red light shot forward, covering the last demon. The ghost froze, and then disappeared. Keiame breathed a sigh of relief, and then dropped to her knees. "We did it."

"Keiame, are you alright?" Kagome asked, walking over. She lowered her height to match the other schoolgirl's height. "I have something for that." She pulled a bandage and ointment from her bag. "That should do it."

"Thanks."

"What the hell was that, Keiame?" Inuyasha put away his sword. "Next time pay attention or you'll get killed!"

"My bad, okay. I was thinking."

"Thinking obviously gets you hurt, so don't keep doing it!"

"Eat a big one, Inuyasha!"

"Now, now, you two. Everyone's safe now. There's no need to argue," Miroku tried to be the mediator. However, he was only given heated stares for his efforts. "Come. Let us resume our journey." Scoffing, the two stopped glaring at him, and then walked forward. The monk sighed heavily. As the group walked, Keiame applied the ointment to her shoulder. It was quite hard to do, but she managed. It did take quite awhile, though. They had passed a sigh that said 'Go downwards to reach Tsuzumi Village.' That was good news. The village was close. Rolling her shoulder, Keiame yawned. She couldn't wait to rest. Sure, there was only one demon battle, but it proved to be harmful for her fragile shoulder. According to Myoga, their luck was heaven on earth, so it was no wonder there were few demons coming out of nowhere.

Within ten minutes, the group had finally reached the designated village. Keiame found herself breathing a sigh of relief. She wasn't the only one feeling great. Shippo exclaimed in relief. However, that relieve was short-lived. A man, screaming for help, ran over to them. A demon was hot on his heels. Keiame groaned in displeasure as Sango called the man over to them. Then the demon had the nerve to threaten them. "_Oh_, God, when will it end?" She almost threw her arms up in the air. "Inuyasha, just Wind Scar the mutha fucker!"

"You got it!" He seemed way too excited to oblige. The red-clad hybrid raised his giant sword. "See how you like this." As expected, he grinned as he brought down his mighty weapon for this long-ranged attack. "**Wind Scar**!" The obnoxious demon stood no chance against the massive force from the sword. He disappeared, cries fading as well as its body. "_Hmph_! These guys are all talk!"

"Thank you so much!" The man actually bowed because he was so grateful. He told them his name, and then began to explain how the area had become dangerous. As a sign of his gratitude, Densuke—that was his name—offered to let the group stay at his home.

"Oh hell yeah!" Keiame answered for the group. The man chuckled a bit before telling the group to follow him. It took two minutes to get there. Densuke spoke modestly about his home, but a bed was a bed. He then stated that the way to the town with the giant castle was blocked. Apparently a huge landslide had caused the blockage. "What? Then how do we get to-"

"Calm down," Kagome interrupted. "We'll have to figure out another way to the castle."

"It can't be helped." Although his voice was disheartened, his expression was contradictory. Shippo called him out on it. The monk cleared his throat and waved off the young demon's comment. He then turned to Densuke. "Anyway, are there any girls my age in this village?" The poor man seemed confused.

"Now I get it," Inuyasha muttered with a roll of his eyes. Sango scoffed, and then began to leave the house.

"Sango-chan, where are you going?" Keiame asked. The demon slayer's movements towards the door had distracted her from lashing out at the monk. His perverted intentions had been all too clear, after all. Sango glanced back at her. She then said that she was going to see if there was any information about the castle. Research. "Oh, good idea. Come back soon!" Keiame waved the older girl off. Sango nodded her head, and then left. Densuke asked if she was a demon slayer. He said he hadn't seen many demon slayers since that 'incident.' "Incident?" she repeated.

"Yes," Kagome said, taking on a solemn expression. The schoolgirl then told the story of Sango's tragic past. Naraku had tricked her and had killed her entire village. Only she and her brother were still alive. However, the brother was taken by Naraku.

"No way…" Keiame murmured. _"I didn't realize that Sango… She's definitely no normal girl, having to go through something like that." _She lowered her eyes to the floor. Here she was, worrying if Sango liked her or not when the older girl had major problems. _"Aww… Now I feel bad."_

Everyone was pretty much quiet after the story was over. They sat in silence, bored and uncomfortable. It was sometime later that Sango returned. She did not bare good news. The demon slayer couldn't find any information concerning the castle because there weren't a lot of people walking about the village. "Well, we can't use the highway, anyway, so let's just take it easy," Miroku suggested.

"Yeah, the sun's setting anyway," Kagome agreed.

"Exactly," Densuke also agreed. "Your beds are ready. Why don't you call it a day and get some rest?"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Keiame said. She yawned loudly. "Good night!"

0~0


	7. Chapter 7

Keiame woke up with a start. She then glared at the person responsible for waking her up. Shippo, the small fox demon, sat in her lap with a smug expression. "What the hell, Shippo?" she asked, rubbing at her eye. The schoolgirl was immediately scolded by Kagome, who was in the next room. Groaning, Keiame stood up, holding Shippo in her arms. She then made her way to the next room, noticing that she had been the only one that had been sleeping. She was greeted by Sango, Kagome, and Miroku. Inuyasha merely grunted at her presence. Scowling, Keiame sat down around the pot of food, releasing the fox demon. She yawned loudly, not bothering to cover it up, as Kagome passed her a bowl of rice and chopsticks.

"Everyone, should we take the day off?" Miroku suddenly suggested after a few minutes of quiet. Keiame looked towards the monk.

"Again? Gosh, are we ever going to do something productive?" The rest of the group ignored her. One, her mouth was full of food. Two, they definitely couldn't understand her. Myoga, the small flea demon who seemed to come and go, remarked that it was quite rare to hear a suggestion from Miroku. Keiame glared at the monk, though he didn't seem to notice, as she finished her meal. She still didn't like him. Still, more than likely, her loathing for Miroku would probably cause problems in the future. As much as she didn't like it, getting along with him seemed to be the best option.

"Do you think he found a pretty girl nearby?" Shippo murmured.

"No. It's just a beautiful day," Miroku retorted.

"_Huh_," Sango seemed annoyed with the monk as well. The human male began laughing nervously under the intense stare from the demon slayer. Inuyasha shook his head and rolled his eyes. Kagome turned to Keiame and asked who she would like to travel with today. She gave a huff of dread, and then pointed to Miroku. "_Eh_? But I thought you didn't like him?"

"Maybe she's coming around-"

"I _don't_." Miroku's shoulders slouched at the statement and having been interrupted by the schoolgirl. "But it's for the greater good… I suppose." Inuyasha snickered, and then announced that he was going to practice with his sword. Sango smirked and volunteered to spar with him. The two warriors began to banter about who was going to win as they left Densuke's home. Apparently, Shippo and Kagome were going for a walk. Miroku turned to Keiame with a friendly smile on his face.

"Alright. Shall we go?" he asked. Instead of answering him, the girl heaved a heavy sigh before moving to stand. "You don't have to sound so tortured." Keiame merely glared again, causing the monk to give his own sigh. He stood as well, moving to leave the house. The schoolgirl followed him out. "It's such good weather today. Why don't we go on a walk?"

"Okay." Keiame looked up at the sky. The monk was right, after all. "But no funny business or I will leave you in the middle of the street with no clothes and a black eye." Miroku actually seemed surprised by her threat. Then he chuckled, though it was uneasy.

"Th-Then let's go," he said. The monk stiffly walked away, staff in hand. Huffing, Keiame crossed her arms and walked behind him. Despite the beautiful day, the walk was tense and the atmosphere was awkward. Every so often, Miroku would glance back at her, but Keiame chose not to speak. Finally, after fifteen minutes of walking, the monk stopped, and then turned to face her. He cleared his throat. "So…" he began. "You came from another era like Kagome?" The schoolgirl blinked, and then curtly nodded her head. "I can't imagine what's its like traveling through time."

"Find some strange looking mushrooms. Grind them into powder. Snort the powder. In a few short moments, you will know what its like," Keiame told him. Miroku gave her a blank look. "Either that, or it'll kill you." His mouth dropped open. "Either way, it'd be funny to see the result."

"Come now, Keiame. I get the distinct impression that you don't like me very much," Miroku said.

"Oh… Oh, is it that obvious?"

"I see. You must be missing your home and that is why you are acting out like this."

"No, not really."

"I remember a time when I was away from home and had no one to rely on," Miroku continued as though he didn't hear her. Again, Keiame chose not to reply to him. "Don't be sad. If you want to cry, then cry on my shoulder." He walked towards her, completely ignoring her personal bubble. Keiame had the urge to scream out 'RAPE!' Still, there were away from the village by now. No one would here her. She clicked her tongue. Had this been his plan all along?

"I'm gonna fuck you up," Keiame told him right before her knee lifted, colliding with the monk's most sensitive area. Expectedly, he stood there for a moment, wondering what had happened. Then the pain registered with his mind. The staff dropped from his hand. He fell over at the same time his staff did.

"Th-Th-This is… the worst… _pain_!"

"Serves you right, you dirty monk!" Keiame kicked him one last time before rushing back towards the village. She grinned, glancing back at the trembling form she had left behind. Despite her unease about traveling with the monk, she had had quite the fun time.

However, she did not gain a stronger friendship with Miroku.

Keiame slowed her run to a very slow walking pace. Her eyes darted, scanning her surroundings. This didn't look familiar. Where the hell was she? Damn, had she gotten lost? Instead of glaring at Miroku's back the entire time, she should have been paying attention to everything else. The schoolgirl sighed heavily again. This was just great. If she was lucky, she would come across someone from the village and she could ask for directions. If she wasn't lucky, she would come across a villager who only repeated the same thing that didn't help her any. What a terrible world she was stuck in.

Wallowing in self-pity, Keiame almost didn't hear the sounds of battle. She perked up, recognizing the arrogant shout followed by the battle cry. Inuyasha! It was him! Yes! Scrambling towards the sounds, she broke through the forest and nearly fell over once she reached the clearing. As she thought, the half-demon was waving his sword around, trying to hit the elusive demon slayer. _"Sango… really is cool!"_ Keiame thought, watching the spar go on with fascinated eyes. After what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, Sango finally struck Inuyasha across the face with a well-aimed kick. She then blocked his counter with her giant weapon, the Hiraikotsu. The two jumped apart, panting and sweating.

"Pretty good, Sango," Inuyasha praised. He wiped his bruised cheek with the back of his hand. The demon slayer nodded and accepted the compliment.

"You, too, Inuyasha. You're getting better at sword play. Next time, I'll use my sword, too."

Keiame couldn't help but to clap at the performance. The two sharply turned their heads in her direction. "Sorry for interrupting, but that was amazing! Sango-chan, you're so good!" The demon slayer blushed and turned her gaze to the ground. Keiame walked over to the two. "Inuyasha, you're better than I thought."

"I'm not sure if that was an insult or not," Inuyasha grumbling, sheathing his sword. "I thought you were hanging out with Miroku. What happened?"

"The stupid monk tried to get fresh with me, so I took him out!"

"You killed him?" Inuyasha asked with a flat expression.

"No way! He's fine," Keiame waved off the accusation. "Anyway, I ran away and got lost. That's when I heard you two sparring. Can I join in?"

"I don't know, Keiame. Inuyasha and I are at a higher level. Perhaps it would dangerous for you," Sango murmured.

"Oh, come on, please! I need to get stronger, too, so I can be of more use in the future!"

"You know, she is okay," Inuyasha said. "What you saw her do in battle before isn't what she's really capable of. She was just being stupid that time."

"I'm going to enjoy beating you up!" Keiame hissed.

"Well, if Inuyasha says its fine, then I guess it is. Let's go then!" Sango exclaimed.

"Yes!" Keiame clenched her fist, ready to battle with her comrades. The three spent the rest of the day, taking turns sparring with each other. She gained a better friendship with both Inuyasha and Sango.

0~0

The next morning Keiame woke up with a sore body. She had never felt this before. Generally, it was her sides that felt the ache. Fighting with such strong opponents would do that to anyone, she guessed. Groaning, the schoolgirl sat up, and then stood. There was no one around. She didn't hear any conversations either. Perhaps the rest of the group was up and about already. Keiame walked into the next room to discover Densuke waiting for her. He explained that everyone else had already gone about gathering information in the village. Apparently, she was ordered to do the same.

"_Great… Homework,"_ she thought, exiting the man's home. It was a bright day. Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and Keiame was not happy. It was going to be a pain to look for something useful while her body wasn't feeling all that great. With a sigh, she began. She spoke with numerous villagers. However, their minds seemed to be on the upcoming festival, not the landslide or another way to the next town.

Weary, Keiame had stopped near the entrance of the village. She leaned against the earth wall and breathed in deeply. It felt as though she had spoken with everyone in the village. She hadn't even seen any members of her group the entire time. "Wait… There's another route, isn't there?" Keiame pushed herself from the wall and continued moving to the entrance of the village. Sure enough, there was a path that she hadn't explored yet. Shrugging, she decided to go down the path. She passed an elderly woman and a child, but didn't stop to speak with them.

She turned the corner, only to come across danger. There was demon and another child; though, this one was seemed a bit older than the last child she saw. He was younger than her, that's for sure. "What a tasty-looking child!" The demon cackled evilly. Because that was what demons did—cackle evilly. "You're so scared that you can't run?" Like the demon said, the boy did not move. "If you're as still as possible, I'll make this as painless as I can."

"As clichéd can you get?" Keiame rolled her eyes. The demon seemed to have heard her and turned in her direction. "Crap."

"It's my lucky day! Two meals for the price of-" The poor demon didn't finish because Keiame had rushed forward, ramming her light engulfed fist against its torso. "_Aarghh_!" The shout faded along with the demon's body.

"Ow… That. Didn't. Feel. Good." Keiame stiffly walked over to the boy. The attack did not help her body feel any better. "Are you okay?" she asked, grimacing. The boy seemed confused, but he did nod his head. "Why didn't you run away, squirt?" Keiame flicked his forehead. The boy frowned, rubbing the spot where he had been hit. His brown eyes almost glared at her. He looked so cute with his freckles and full-body leather outfit. The boy's hair was pulled into a short ponytail. His eyes looked down. By his foot, there was a small kitten. "Oh… A cat," Keiame observed. "You were protecting it?" The feline let out a meow as if answering in confirmation.

"Yes," the boy answered as well. His frowned turned into a slight smile.

"That's pretty cool. There aren't not too many people who care more about animals than their own self," Keiame commented. It was probably best not to mention that she was one of those people. Her eyes spotted the weapon at the boy's side. He also had a katana underneath his green sash. "Say, are you a warrior by any chance?" She pointed to his weapon. "Looks cool."

"It's called a Kasarigama," the boy stated.

"I see. Are you from around here?"

"No, I just got here three days ago," he answered. That's when the kitten began to walk away. The boy followed after him, telling Keiame that he had to leave now. She asked him for his name. It seemed like the appropriate thing to do. Glancing back, he answered her. "My name's Kohaku! See you later!" The boy continued to run after the kitten. Keiame watched him go until he was out of her sight. Blinking, she began to backtrack towards the village. It was a shame that she couldn't ask him how he had managed to get to this village. Oh well… Maybe she would see him again.

Keiame stopped her walking, coming across the river. It was a beautiful sight. She almost wished they had a pond or lake near her house. Almost. Bugs liked to swarm to bodies of water. She and bugs did not get along. "_Hm_? Is that?" Across the body of water, she saw a familiar clothing design. _"It's Sango-chan! I wonder if she's found anything important."_ With that thought in mind, Keiame headed towards the older girl. She had to go around, but eventually, she made it to Sango. "Hey, Sango-chan, what's up?"

The demon slayer turned to Keiame, a sad smile on her face. "Nothing much," she answered. "I was only looking at the flowers. They were my brother's favorite."

"_Your brother liked flowers? Pansy, was he?"_ Luckily, she didn't ask this out loud. "Your brother, huh…? I see," Keiame looked away for a moment. Sango frowned a bit.

"I guess everyone told you about my past…" she muttered.

"Yeah, Kagome is such a blabbermouth," Keiame replied.

"My brother was so kind. He almost didn't belong in Demon Slayer Village," Sango continued. "He didn't like to fight, but he loved animals and flowers."

"_So he wasn't as badass, huh?" _Again, the schoolgirl decided to keep this thought to herself. She didn't have any siblings, so she couldn't possible imagine what her friend was going through. "Sango-chan, I'm going to go see if I can find anyone else. I'll leave you to your emoing."

"_Eh_?"

"No, nothing!" Keiame ran, waving back at the demon slayer. Sango returned her gaze to the flowers below her. It was so sad. Her friend was hurting, and yet she couldn't console her. Pity. She slowed down, remembering that her body was aching. "Shit! This sucks!" That's when Kagome spotted her.

"What sucks? You know, you should really stop cursing like that," she said.

"… Be quiet, you…!" Keiame sat down beside Kagome, allowing her body time to rest. "I just spoke with Sango-chan about her brother. She's definitely missing him."

"I see… Naraku took control of Kohaku so that he could try to control Sango," Kagome stated.

"Really? What a dic—wait a minute!" Keiame cut her eyes to her fellow schoolgirl. "Did you just say _Kohaku_?"

"_Uh_… yeah… What's wrong?"

"No way! No way!" Keiame stood up, ignoring Kagome's question. "I've gotta go! Bye!" She raced away, hearing the green-clad girl calling after her. _"This sounds too good to be a coincidence! It's the same kid, right?" _she thought, rushing to the spot where she had just met the boy with the cat. Now that she thought about it, the boy was wearing an outfit similar to Sango's. Damn, how could she not have put two and two together on her own?

She came across the same area, but the boy wasn't there. Instead, there was a man, sighing and complaining about something. He spotted her and looked as though he was about to say something. "Nope! I don't care!" Keiame rushed past him towards the kitten. It was the same breed she saw yesterday. The feline must have recognized her because he purred lightly and rubbed its face against her ankle. Then it turned and walked away. "You want me to follow you, kitty?" The kitten stopped, looked back, and then continued on its way. "Fine, I will. Maybe you'll take me to that kid."

Blindly, Keiame followed the cat, grimacing when the brushes brushed again her legs. She was going to be so itchy later on. Finally, she came across another road. She saw the boy as well. He walked into a small cave opening. "Secret tunnel…!" Keiame dashed forward in hopes of catching up to the boy. Inside, there were several purple clouds of smoke. "_Haahhh_! Why does this happen to me?" Carefully, she avoided the smoke filled with monsters she didn't feel like fighting. She had been so cautious about it that she had lost sight of the boy. Instead, she found an elderly man. He seemed to be breaking rocks with his tool.

"One! Two! Thre-"

"Hey!" Keiame tapped his back. The old man gave a scream of fright, grabbed his chest, and fell to the ground. He lay there, unmoving. "… I think… I just killed a man…" Slowly, Keiame backed away from the corpse. To her surprise, the old man leapt up, exclaiming.

"You surprised me!" he stated, pointing a finger.

"You surprised me, too," Keiame grumbled. Could he have been a zombie? He then started ranting about how he was the only one who knew about this back road and if he finds any gold then it was his and his alone. Rolling her eyes, Keiame almost walked away. "Wait… back road? Does this lead to another village?" The old man seemed a bit flustered. "It does, doesn't it? Great! The castle must be on the other side. Ha! I should be a spy!"

"You can't tell anyone!"

"Don't worry—I won't! Except for five other people! _Haha_, bye!" Keiame dashed away, just barely dodging the old man's tool. "But I wonder where that kid went… That old guy said he wasn't used to seeing people so he couldn't have seen him." She walked back, deep in thought. She almost didn't see the same kid right in front of her. "…! Dude, I've been looking all over for you!" She waved at the kid. "I've got a couple questions for you!" He turned to her. "Do you have a sister named Sango?"

"Huh…?" For a moment, he only stood there. Then his eyes glazed over, appearing hazel instead of the deep brown she had seen earlier. He took out his weapon, and then flung it at her. Keiame side was grazed by the sharp weapon. Blood seeped out of her body and stained her white uniform.

"What the hell, Kohaku? It was just a question!" she screeched. The boy didn't seem to be paying attention. He looked about ready to attack again. The girl winced, bracing herself.

"Stop it, Kohaku!" A familiar voice caused Keiame to turn her attention away from the boy. It was her comrade, Sango. She appeared anxious and a bit sad. Then Kagura appeared out of nowhere, scolding the boy for messing it up.

"You…!" Keiame pointed a finger at the fan-wielding demon.

"How nice," Kagura turned to her. "You remember me."

"What are you doing here? How do you know Kohaku?"

"So many questions, so little time," was the coy response. Both Sango and Keiame glared at the demon. "Kohaku is going to capture you, so stand back and watch, woman of Demon Slayer village. Don't do anything you'll be sorry for. Kohaku's life is on the line, after all."

"What?" Keiame nearly hissed. "You're using Kohaku against his sister? Low, man, totally low!"

"If you resist, Kohaku loses his life," Kagura stated, uncaringly.

"Shit…" Keiame clenched her fists. It was then she noticed the sparkling rock above the enemies' heads. _"Serpent rock…"_ she thought. A grin slowly formed on her face. "I don't give a fuck!" she exclaimed. Kagura actually seemed surprised by the retort. Keiame raised her hand up. "Give it up, Shikigami!" Her fingers curled in, clenching into a fist. The Serpentine rock immediately exploded, sending falling debris down to the enemy.

"Damn!" Kagura quickly rushed to get away, taking Kohaku with her. Sango shouted for her brother, but he had already left. There wasn't anything neither of them could do about it. Keiame walked over to Sango. The older girl had knelt down with her eyes closed. Obviously, she was sad. She whimpered out her brother's name.

"Sango-chan…" Honestly, Keiame didn't know what to say. "Eh… Are you okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine," she answered, standing.

"How did you get here?"

"Kagome told me you ran this way after learning my brother's name," Sango replied. "You went alone, Keiame! That was dangerous!"

"But-"

"What if something happened to you? You know about Kohaku being under Naraku's control, and yet you still sought him out!" Sango continued, seemingly angry. "That was a _stupid_ thing to do!"

"Hey, I just wanted to know if he was your brother or not!" Keiame protested. "Don't bite my head off just because I was worried about you!" Sango gasped, and then guiltily looked away.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled. "I… I guess I'm really upset about the fact that I couldn't do anything when Kohaku was attacking you."

"What else could you do? He's your brother."

"Still…"

"Hey, I said its fine! Don't worry about me!"

"No, it's not fine. Don't go off by yourself anymore. We're a team, aren't we?" Sango questioned. Keiame was taken aback by her words. Sure, she had self-proclaimed herself as friends with Sango, but the older girl had never stated her feelings on the matter. This was… nice.

"Yeah… I guess we are. Sorry about this," she said voice barely above a whisper.

"Let's go back. Everyone's waiting," Sango stated.

"Okay—oh yeah! I found another way to the castle! We should tell everyone! Come on!"

0~0

They returned to Densuke's home. Everyone noticed their presence and turned to greet them. As usual, Inuyasha seemed annoyed. With his arms crossed, he asked what the two girls were doing this whole time. Keiame began to explain her tale, with Sango's help. She ended with telling the group that she had found another way to the castle. "Despite the danger, you look happier, Keiame," Miroku remarked, stepping forward. "Did something happen?"

"Why should I tell you?" Keiame scowled.

"Come now, there's no secrets between us," the monk replied. Neither schoolgirl liked the way his voice sounded. Kagome was quick to tell him to stop, stating that Sango would become offended. Confused, Keiame's eyebrows knitted together.

"I don't get offended," the demon slayer muttered, frowning.

"Of course! I was worried about Sango, too," Miroku stated.

"Were you really, Miroku?" the older girl sounded hopeful. The monk nodded his head, confirming his earlier statement. Keiame looked back and forth between the slayer and the monk. For some reason, Sango's cheeks took on a pink hue. Though her eyes were averted, the flushing of her cheeks was still visible. Miroku smiled and walked over to the demon slayer. He slid his hand over the older girl's bottom with a perverted grin on his face. For his actions, he received a fierce smack to his face. Keiame vehemently nodded her head, agreeing with her friend's actions. Still, she couldn't help but notice the blush was still on Sango's face. If was almost as if Sango _liked_ Miroku.

"WHAT?" Keiame suddenly screeched, causing the others to flinch. They turned to her, looking quite stunned. "_Hell_ no! I will not allow it!"

"_Eh_… Keiame, what's wrong?" Kagome asked. Noticing the looks, the schoolgirl immediately relaxed and gave a bright, fake, smile.

"Oh, nothing!" she replied. This seemed to put the group on edge, though. "I said it's nothing! Anyway, like I said, there's a road, leading to the castle on the outskirts of the village. We should definitely take it."

"You sure seem enthusiastic," Inuyasha smirked.

"What can I say? I'm getting closer to the one who brought me here," Keiame returned the smirk. "I'm going to do _so_ much damage." She and the half-demon shared a malevolent laugh. Densuke, though freaked out, told the group that their beds were ready. "Oh, that's good. I've been running around all day. My body's going to be extra sore tomorrow."

"It's called a workout," Sango smiled. "Don't worry. The ache should disappear soon—especially if you continue to move about like you did today."

"That doesn't make me happy, Sango-chan," Keiame pouted, crossing her arms. The others laughed at her. "Whatever, I'm going to bed now. Good night, folks."

The night seemed to have gone by quickly, just like every other night. Once again, Keiame found herself, sitting across from Inuyasha. Currently, the two were having an eating competition while Kagome looked on in disgust. Within a few minutes, Inuyasha was declared the winner. Keiame rubbed her belly, groaning lightly. "Keiame, sit decently!" Kagome scolded. The schoolgirl's legs were spread as she rubbed her stomach. In response, Keiame let out a loud belch. "Honestly…! Are you even a girl?" Kagome crossed her arms. Myoga bounced on Inuyasha's shoulder. The flea demon suggested the day off again.

"We time have time to lollygag," Inuyasha huffed.

"Don't be like that, Inuyasha," Kagome said with a smile. "It's another good day. I think I'll go for a walk—come with me-"

"I'm going with Miroku," Keiame stated, interrupting. There were several surprised gasps, and one small '_eep_' from the monk. "I know what you're thinking, but this is _strictly_ business. Let's go, monk. We have something important to discuss."

"But I wanted to-"

"Get up and follow me!" Keiame ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" Miroku hurriedly scurried after the schoolgirl.

"I guess I'll train again," Sango sighed. "You wanna go again, Inuyasha?" The half demon smirked.

"Yeah, let's go," he stood up, not seeing the disappointed look on Kagome's face.

"I guess I'll go shopping," she muttered. Shippo chose to join her.

Back to Miroku and Keiame, the monk was trying his best to stay clear of the girl's legs. He grimaced at the thought of the powerful kick. However, Keiame only stared straight ahead, not even glancing his way. The two walked as they did yesterday. Today, though, Miroku chose to pick a few medicinal herbs because he was worried about the cold going around the village. He didn't want it to affect any of his comrades. Picking herbs was a bit hard having someone's eyes constantly on his person. It was stranger since Keiame had yet to speak.

After walking pass a few Buddha statues—and taking a few of the offerings—Miroku suggested that they rest over by a tree. The branches gave excellent shade from the sun. Adding the wind, it was quite nice. Weather such as this was quite rare. It wasn't too hot or cold. The monk sat down and closed his eyes. "It's such good weather, isn't it, Keiame?" he tried to strike a conversation with the younger girl. She nodded. Well, that went nowhere. "_Ah_, how is your body? Better than yesterday?"

"Yes, actually." Finally, she sat down across from him. "It should be back to normal by the time we leave the village." She massaged her side. "I wish I had another shirt, though. The blood stain won't come out."

"Oh, I have something for that," Miroku stated. "We fight with demons all the time, so getting blood out is easy now."

"_Ah_, so you do have your uses," Keiame said. The monk chuckled nervously, not sure if he should take that as a compliment.

"Anyway, I have some sweet bean buns. Would you like one?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah! That'd be great!" Keiame exclaimed, smiling. She took the bun from his hand and began eating. "This is good! I guess they really don't make them like they used to—_haha_!" This was good. It seemed that Keiame was making an effort to get along with him, after all. Perhaps she would even stop striking him, too. Her strikes were much more… hate-filled than any other woman he had come across.

"You know, Keiame, you have such a cute smile. It's a shame I don't get to see it very often," Miroku remarked. The girl froze mid-bite and opened her eyes. Her smiled was gone. Still, she finished off the sweet bun. She stared hard at the ground. Okay. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. A girl like Keiame was rare, but they existed. Those women chose not to accept heartfelt compliments. Miroku cleared his throat. "So… what was this important matter we need to discuss?"

"Oh yes, the important discussion," Keiame said. She lightly tapped her chin and looked up, seemingly in thought. "How should I start this? Oh right… I guess I should start off by saying that I don't like you." Her blunt words caused the monk to slouch. "Harsh as it may be, it's a statement. I'm probably never going to like you. That being said, an important person to me, for some unfathomable reason has the hots for you. As her friend, I definitely do not like her affections for you because she can do better than you." The schoolgirl crossed her arms. "Still," she murmured. "I haven't known her for awhile, I won't try to sway her crush on you. But that doesn't mean I can't talk to you."

"I'm… not following," Miroku hesitantly admitted.

"Then let me make it clear to you." The smile returned to the girl's face. She slowly crawled over to the month, getting very close to his face. "Rip out her heart, and I'll rip out your sperm bags." The whimper was definitely appropriate given the situation. "Lead her on, and I'll lead you off a cliff," Keiame continued. Her smile had transformed into a sinister smirk. "Keep touching her inappropriately, and I'm going to touch you inappropriately… and _not_ in the good way. If you have affections for her, be _serious_ in your relationship with her or I will _seriously_ kill you. You got me now… monk?" Miroku vigorously nodded his head. The smile came back much to the monk's pleasure. "Good, I'm glad we had this discussion." She stood up. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you do, Mi-ro-ku!" Without a care in the world, the young teen skipped off, heading back towards the village.

"I think…" Miroku began once Keiame was out of sight. "My life's been shortened and not because of the Wind Tunnel." He heaved a dejected sigh.

The relationship between Miroku and Keiame would not get any stronger.

0~0


	8. Chapter 8

Walking was boring as shit.

Keiame sighed wearily for the twentieth time today. Her schoolgirl comrade told her that it had only been thirty minutes and that her sighing was just going to make everyone annoyed. At that, a middle finger was shown, causing Kagome to scowl. "Why is it so boring?!" Keiame threw her hands in the air in frustration. "We haven't seen a single demon since we left that village! I wish something would happen already!"

"Don't say that!" Kagome exclaimed. "You're going to jinx us! What if something really bad happened soon?"

"Then we'll just _fight_!"

"I agree," Inuyasha nodded his head. "I'm going to get rusty with this 'heaven on Earth' fortune."

"Great, just what we needed," Kagome glowered. "Another gung-ho Inuyasha."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Both Inuyasha and Keiame shouted in unison. Before Kagome could give a retort, a scream echoed through the forest. However, according to Inuyasha, it sounded close by. "Didn't we _just_ save someone? You'd think these people would learn how to defend themselves _by_ themselves by now!"

"You were just saying how you wanted to fight," Sango stated. "Make up your mind, Keiame."

"But my heart is as fickle as whether Kagome can hit the target or not."

"HEY!"

"We have no time for this!" Miroku suddenly exclaimed. "That was the voice of a beautiful woman! We must hurry!" The monk scurried on ahead, leaving the rest of the group to stare blankly at his departing back.

"He sure reacts quickly when it comes to women," Shippo commented.

"Remind me why we keep him," Keiame muttered.

"Whatever. If it's a demon, we've gotta fight him," Inuyasha stated. "Let's go." With a sigh, Keiame followed after the red-clad demon, along with the others. It was a short run to where Miroku had stopped. Three women were trapped in a corner by a single demon, which appeared much a like a Zubat. When the short-haired schoolgirl commented on the fact, Kagome was quick to scold her. Before Keiame could retort, Inuyasha intervened. "Don't talk about stupid things! Let's just kill the demon already!"

"Okay! Let's go!" Keiame suddenly grabbed the small fox demon by the tail, and then threw him at the enemy. "Shippo! I choose you!" Ignoring Kagome's shout of 'Don't treat him like that!' the short-haired girl yelled out an attack. "Shippo! Do a head butt!"

"SHI-PPO!" The tyke's head smashed into the enemy Zubat. Caught off guard, the demon crashed into the ground as Shippo ran back to the others. "It's super effective!"

"Don't encourage her actions!"

"Inuyasha, you're up next! Use Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!"

"Inu~!" The half-demon leapt up, claws at the ready. "YASHA!" The attack hit the demon head on, dealing quite the bit of damage. Kagome stared blankly for a moment before sighing heavily.

"Sango! Finish it up!"

"Got it!" The demon slayer ran at the enemy, knocking it aside with her large boomerang. The demon froze for a moment before completely disappearing. "Enemy slain! Now we don't have any time to waste!" Keiame squealed and rushed over to Sango, hugging her from behind.

"Sango-chan~! You're the best!"

"Hey, hey! Cut that out!"

As the demon slayer struggled to pry the schoolgirl off her, the three women walked over, saying their thanks. As if he did all the work, the monk of the group ran a hand through his hair and stated that it was nothing. He completely missed the scowls pointed in his direction. Miroku and the three women began flirting with each other. It was completely obvious. Soon Keiame became fed up. She rolled up her sleeve and cleared her throat. "_Oi_! Monk! Remember what we talked about?" she asked. Miroku shifted his attention to the schoolgirl, and then flinched as he remembered the threat. "Yeah, I effin _thought_ so!" She jumped at him as though she was going to hit him. Miroku staggered back in surprise.

"Either way, it looks like the demons are gone. We should keep moving," Inuyasha stated. Kagome was quick to agree with the half demon. As the group turned to leave, the woman in the blue kimono spoke up. She stated that she wanted to show her appreciation. She offered to house them for the night.

"Thank you very much. We will gladly do so," Miroku answered for the entire group.

"Why in the world do we need to go over some woman's house?" Inuyasha questioned.

"Obviously, someone hasn't gotten laid yet," Keiame remarked. For her comment, she was given a look of rage from Kagome. No one else understood what the schoolgirl had said, though.

"I'll prepare a delicious meal for you," the woman stated.

"Food, huh? Actually, I'm starving," Inuyasha let a small smile cross his face. Keiame eagerly nodded her head in agreement.

"You ain't got to tell us twice! Let's go!" she exclaimed.

"As long as I'm around, you'll have nothing to fear," Miroku said.

"Shut up, Miroku," Keiame and Sango retorted.

0~0

The group had arrived at the castle by the time the sky had turned dark. At the moment, they sat in a large room with food in front of them just waiting to be consumed. The woman, apparently a princess, was also in the room with them. "Wow! That's a lot of food! There's no way I can eat it all!" Kagome exclaimed.

"I sure can!" Keiame grinned, wondering what exactly she should eat first.

"Don't be a pig, Keiame!"

"Don't be a bitch, Kagome!"

The two schoolgirls glared at one another before sharply turning their heads away from each other. Inuyasha rolled his eyes while Shippo laughed. Sango was too busying trying to burn a hole in Miroku's body. The monk was still shamelessly flirting with the princess of this castle. The half demon raised an eyebrow at the sight, and then shifted his attention to the slayer of the group. "He really lays it on, doesn't he?" he murmured. Sango's lip twitched. She closed her eyes and grumbled something along the lines of 'A monk, my ass!' Her chopsticks broke under the pressure she put them under. The noise caused many heads to turn her way. "You mad, Sango? Want me to take care of him for you?"

"I'd happily join in," Keiame offered.

"Miroku is such an idiot," Kagome scowled.

"_Ah_, it's such a beautiful night…" Miroku pretended that he couldn't sense the hostility. The princess stood up, asking if the monk wanted to go outside with her. "Sure, let's go." He stood up as well. The two exited the room despite the fact that glares followed after them. Once they were gone, Kagome asked whether or not they should have let them go.

"It doesn't have anything to do with me!" Sango huffed.

"Yeah, we shouldn't worry about that jerk," Inuyasha stated, and then began to dig in.

"I… I don't care about that monk!" Sango continued. She, too, began eating.

"As you shouldn't!" Keiame said. "He's not worthy enough for that! That dirty monk!" With her mouth full, she went on. "I don't understand why someone like him is even a part of this journey. He doesn't seem like the type to want to save the world. Then again, neither does Inuyasha."

"Bite me!" The half demon didn't stop eating to throw the retort. Kagome scolded them both for that, and then began to talk about Miroku, something about the Wind Tunnel. Apparently it was a curse that Naraku had given to his ancestor. It had passed on through the generations, killing whoever possessed it.

"Wait, wait…!" Keiame interrupted Kagome's story. "I've seemed to have stopped caring."

"You're so heartless, Keiame!" Kagome nearly hissed.

"No, I just don't give a fu-"

"Not in front of Shippo!"

"Whatever…"

Keiame turned away from her fellow schoolgirl and silently ate. Her eyelids lowered. Perhaps she had been too harsh with Miroku. She had no idea that something like that was on his mind. If Naraku didn't die, Miroku would face his premature death. The monk was literally running out of time. Maybe she should try to be a bit nicer to a dying person… Then again, his past didn't excuse his actions for fondling her when they first met! And how dare he flirt with other women when he _knows_ that a certain someone has a crush on him! Keiame viciously bit into her meat at the thought. Maybe one day he would have her respect, but she would never like him! Ever!

"Keiame, what the hell's wrong with you?" Inuyasha asked. "You look like a wild animal!"

"Nothing," she replied. "And you shouldn't talk." She stood up and headed for the door. "I'm going to get some water. Be right back." Before she could leave, however, the sound of one of the princess' servant entered her ears. Another voice was heard. Apparently, she was about to walk in on a conversation between the two.

"I choose the girl with short hair…" Keiame blinked. They were talking about her? She was the only one in the group with her hair cut short. Then other one stated that she was going for the girl with the pig tail. That was Sango. Just what were they referring to? A thought entered her mind, causing the schoolgirl to fall back in surprise. She crashed into Inuyasha's back, causing him to yell.

"What the hell?!"

"There's some lesbian shit going on out there!"

Kagome whacked her over the head. With a growl of disdain, Keiame launched herself over the food and towards the green-clad girl. With a startled gasp, Kagome reared back, but that didn't stop Keiame from grabbing fistfuls of her hair. In retaliation, Kagome grabbed handfuls of Keiame's hair as well. The two schoolgirls rolled on the ground, trying to obtain the upper hand. Their squeals of pain and vicious insults filled the room. "Inuyasha! Aren't you going to stop them?!" Sango stood up. The half demon blinked, turned his attention to Sango, and then focused on the girls again.

"For some reason… I don't… want to," he admitted. The two finally crashed into the folding screen near the far wall. They took down the screen, unaware that they had just discovered something. Inuyasha's nose twitched before he stood up. "Hey, hold on!" His sudden shout made the girls freeze. They eyes shifted towards him in their frozen positions. Keiame was on top of Kagome still grasping the girl's long hair. Kagome laid underneath, hand on her comrade's torso in an attempt to push her away. The other hand held the girl's right ear, pinched between her fingers. Inuyasha stepped over them towards the wall. His nose twitched again. "Something is weird… This is human blood."

"Human…?" Kagome repeated. Keiame stood up, taking her opponent with her. "Is it hers or mine?" They began to fix their ruffled appearances.

"Neither. You aren't bleeding at all," Inuyasha stated. "This blood isn't that fresh."

"What do you think happened?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know. I don't care, but this is too weird for my tastes," Inuyasha said.

"Now that you've said that… I'm getting worried about the monk," Sango murmured.

"I guess someone has to," Keiame shrugged. "Let's go check on him."

As soon as they stepped outside the room, they were greeted by the two women servants. Thinking quickly, Keiame lied, saying that she had to use the restroom. Kagome followed along and lied that she needed to use it as well. However, they were denied by them, suggesting that they go after the party was over. "_After _the party?" Sango narrowed her eyes. "That's a little ridiculous, don't you think?"

"Total douche-baggery, is what it is," Keiame frowned. "I demand to see the host!"

"They're suspicious…"

"They're suspicious…"

Their voices warped as they spoke, giving the group a creepy feeling. Shippo even shuddered. Then they went on to let them know that their plan was to not let them leave the room under their master took the monk's liver. Without warning, the two women revealed their true forms. Floating heads with long dark hair appeared in place of the women. A sharp gasp came from Kagome's mouth. "Oh no! Talk about getting some head!" Dodging the swipe from an irritated schoolgirl, Keiame continued. "Bitches think they can take us, Inuyasha!" Keiame grinned.

"Let's show them that they won't get us that easily!" Sango pulled out her boomerang. The half demon only smirked, removing his sword from his sheath. "Bring it on!" One of the floating heads attacked, going for Inuyasha. He used his large sword as a shield, but he was still pushed back.

"Didn't even feel that!" Inuyasha shouted. Shippo came to the half demon's aid by tackling the demon. It didn't do much damage, but he effectively got the enemy off Inuyasha. "Nice, Shippo!" The little demon laughed smugly as Keiame got ready to attack.

"Kick some ass, Shikigami!" She threw her ball of light at one of the demons. The impact caused the demon to crash into the other. While they were both down, Sango dashed forward, bringing down her Hiraikotsu. However, their recovery rate was enough for them to dodge her attack. "Close one, Sango-chan!" Kagome loaded her arrow, and then launched it forward.

"Hit the mark!" The arrow penetrated the demon's skin, and then exploded! "Whoa!" The demon was no match for the girl's sacred arrow. It froze, and then disappeared in shroud of blue light.

"One down!" Sango swung her weapon above her head several times before releasing it. The remaining demon stood no chance against the demon slayer's powerful attack. The weapon sliced right through the demon before returning to its master's hand. The last demon froze, and then disappeared. "It's done! _Huh_, now that was easy."

"This isn't good. Since they were demons, Miroku's in trouble," Kagome stated. "We have to hurry and find him!" Nodding, the rest headed further into the large mansion. When they reached open space, they saw a horde of demons blocking the path. "There's so many! I don't think we can get through there!"

"_Uh_… Why can't we?" Keiame questioned.

"Are you blind?! Look at them all!" Shippo exclaimed. "There's no way we can pass that many demons!"

"Again, I ask, why can't we?"

"How are we supposed to take on that many demons?!" Kagome shouted. This, of course, caused every demon to look in their direction. "Crap baskets…" Several roars were let out as the demons came rushing at them.

"Get 'em, Inuyasha!"

"_All_ of them?!"

"No, no, just one demon will do—of _course_ I meant all of them!" Keiame screamed. "Hurry up!" Glaring at her, Inuyasha pulled out his sword. "Fire it up, Shikigami!" She lifted her arm, red sphere in hand. The aura around her moved, slithering like a dragon towards Inuyasha. Keiame's aura swirled around the blade as the half demon lifted the large sword above his head. "Unleash your power!"

"Fight off this!" His fingers gripped the hilt tighter, and then he brought his sword down. "**Wind Scar**!" The massive power behind the combo attack completely obliterated the demons and destroyed everything its path. Once the ground stopped rumbling and the smoke cleared, Inuyasha lowered his weapon. He, too, was in awe. "Ke-Keiame…! How'd you-" The girl shrugged.

"Didn't know it was going to be like that. I did it with Kagome before with Kagura," she muttered. "I guess I should have used your weapon instead to kill her. Who knew?"

"Hey!" For some reason, that sounded like an insult to Kagome's ear. "Anyway, I guess we can go through here… Not that there's a 'here' anymore." Her remark only got her haughty laughs from both Inuyasha and Keiame. "It's strange, though… No one else came out after that… I'm getting really worried about Miroku." The group ran pass the remains that were left behind by the attack. Inuyasha suddenly halted, causing the rest to do the same. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Miroku's voice," he answered. "He's ahead in that room, but… I can't smell him."

"… Lonely. Comfort me?"

"That was the princess!" Shippo exclaimed.

"If it's alright with you," Miroku replied.

"Oh, Miroku…!"

"What?" Sango stepped to Inuyasha's side. A loud groan was heard, and it sounded as though it came from Miroku. Keiame's mouth dropped open as did Kagome's. "That _dirty_ monk!" The demon slayer made a move to rush in, but Inuyasha stopped her.

"Wait, you shouldn't, Sango!" he said. She slapped his hand away from her shoulder and continued on. Clearly she was furious. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Damn it!"

"We have no choice but to follow," Kagome mumbled. "Let's go." The half demon nodded, and then followed after the headstrong female. The rest entered the room to see Sango, yelling at Miroku. The monk was kneeling in front of the princess.

"Girl! Why are you here? Where are my guards?"

"If you're talking about those demon guards, then I took care of them!" Inuyasha bragged.

"Why, you…!" The princess transformed. Like her servants, she, too, was a floating demon head. However, she was much larger than her subordinates. Her high pitched voice had changed as well. It was much deeper. The laugh echoed throughout the room was enough to judge that. Sango called out to the fallen monk, and even ran forward. However, her body bounced off an invisible force, so she hadn't reached him. "You're wasting your time if you want to save the monk. He's in a trance right now. You can't do anything because this place is protected by a barrier."

"A barrier…?" Kagome repeated. "That would explain why she couldn't hear all the commotion."

"Miroku! Wake up! Wake up!" Sango pleaded.

"Don't worry, Sango! I'll use my Tessaiga to break it!"

"No, Inuyasha!" Kagome protested. "If you break the barrier, you could endanger Miroku!"

"Shoot!"

"Dagnabit!" Keiame also cursed, but it sounded as though she was making fun of the half demon's use of words. For that, she was shown his middle finger.

"You humans make me laugh," the demon chuckled. "Anyway, I'm going to eat the monk's liver. You just sit there and watch."

"Miroku…" Sango whimpered.

"It's not that easy!" Miroku suddenly stood up. Flabbergasted, the demon couldn't even form a proper sentence. "Too bad for you!" He ran over to the crystal in the corner, and then destroyed it with his staff. The crystal shattered into thousands of pieces and fell to the floor at his feet. "Everyone! The barrier's gone! Attack!"

"You foolish mortals! You dare defy _me_?! I am _Oboro_!"

"Someone has a complex," Keiame muttered with a blank expression. Oboro screamed out. The scream echoed, and suddenly, two clones appeared by her side. They were smaller and of a different shade, but the two appeared similar. "So you summon underlings to do your dirty work for you… Definitely a complex."

"Keiame…!" Kagome scolded.

"Yah, yah…" The schoolgirl cracked her knuckles. "Let's get it started. Give me a K!"

"Give me an S!" Shippo joined in.

"Give me a _break_!" Inuyasha lifted his sword above his head and ran at the floating demon in the middle. Oboro screamed, but she wasn't down for the count just yet. The half demon lined up again, still clutching the hilt of his powerful sword. "Damn—she's stronger than she looks!"

"Why don't you guys just use that super attack you just used?" Kagome asked, preparing to fire.

"We're out of energy!" Keiame answered. "We need to be attacked in order to replenish it!"

"That… doesn't make sense! In what world does that make sense?!"

"This one, apparently, Kagome," the other schoolgirl shook her head as if she couldn't believe that her comrade had just asked an obvious question. The green-clad girl glared, and then fired off her attack. Yelling out 'Rapid Fire' she unleashed her arrows, striking the three demons. "My turn!" However, before Keiame could unleash her Shikigami powers, one of Oboro's minions decided to attack her. It was a hellava lot faster than the last two. The schoolgirl could only stare, frozen in place.

"KEIAME!"

Suddenly, she was knocked to the floor a few meters from where she had been standing. Body aching and sprawled on the floor, Keiame grimaced. The impact with the floor didn't feel too good, but it was probably better than being attacked by that demon. Groaning, she lifted her head. Her eyes expanded. Standing there, in her place, was the monk of the group. The minion had its teeth in Miroku's right shoulder. "Miroku…" Keiame murmured. The others called out his name as well in concern. Inuyasha was quick to act and attack the foul demon with his sword. It froze before disappearing. Deeming it safe, the schoolgirl rushed to Miroku's side. He had fallen to his knees, clutching his bleeding shoulder. "Why did you… do that?"

"This… This is nothing," Miroku replied. A grunt of obvious pain came from his lips. "I'm fine. Are _you_ alright?"

"You idiot…" Keiame reached into her pocket and pulled out ointment. After rubbing the stuff on Miroku's injury, she stood up and faced the enemy. "You stay out of this, monk. I'll take care of it." The older teen smiled.

"You… are a nice person, after all," he stated. He then made the mistake of groping her rear end to show his thanks. As expected, Keiame didn't like that.

"You _damn_ dirty monk!" Screaming, she lifted Miroku up from the floor by folds of his robes, and with all her might, hurled him towards Oboro. "DIE!" Fortunately, Miroku still held onto his staff. Like a rocket, heading downwards, the sharp end of his staff embedded deep within Oboro's head and went straight through. With a monstrous roar of anguish, Oboro froze, and then disappeared moments later. Others looked on, dumbstruck.

"I can't believe that just happened…" Inuyasha muttered, flatly.

"You have got to be kidding me," Sango, too, was in a state of disbelief. The demon slayer gripped her massive weapon before slamming it against the floor. One end of the boomerang sank into the floor, leaving it sticking up. She focused her brown eyes on the last demon. "Inuyasha…!" The half demon grunted with a nod of his head as the slayer held the hilt of her katana.

"Let's do it, Sango!" He ran towards the demon, pulling out his sword.

"Right behind ya!" Her long blade was unleashed right before her comrade jumped up. Of course, she followed after him. With a battle cry, Inuyasha sliced at the last of Oboro's minions. Sango followed up with a slash from her own sword. Their combined efforts completely destroyed the demon, leaving not a trace behind.

"Nice work," Inuyasha smirked, sheathing his sword.

"You, too, Inuyasha," Sango returned the compliment, smirking as well. The two warriors of the group shifted their gaze to Miroku, whom was just now standing up. Feeling the need to explain, the monk began speaking.

"That demon was a challenge because of her ability to use that barrier," he stated. "Because you were able to distract the demons, I was able to destroy the crystal that was the source of her power."

"You knew _all along_?" Keiame wasn't the only one that was skeptic. "Well, excuse me for calling bullshit."

"Don't mind her, Miroku," Kagome spoke up. "We really thought you were in a trance."

"Are you impressed?" He smiled, and then reached over to grope Sango's rear end. She froze and shuddered all over. Keiame's eyebrow twitched as the demon slayer shouted and gave the monk a bitch slap.

"You just don't give up, do you?" Inuyasha roughly pushed Miroku to the floor. "Stop fooling around, already!"

"Hey, now! Miroku's still hurt, Inuyasha!" Kagome scolded. The half demon only scoffed and crossed his arms. The green-clad schoolgirl moved over and examined the monk's shoulder. "We should head back to Tsuzumi village for now. Let's get a good rest and then head for the castle."

"I say we leave him to bleed," Keiame suggested.

"We're _all_ going back to Tsuzumi village!" Kagome nearly hissed.

"Fine, mother! Don't bite my head off!"

"You, little-"

"Let's just go already," Sango sighed. Then she plucked her giant weapon from the floor. "We could all use another break."

0~0

Another night had passed, and unsurprisingly, Keiame was the last one up again. Densuke had, once again, allowed the group to sleep in his home. Some people were hopelessly helpful. Keiame had a feeling his life would be in danger many times if he continued to do things like this. Stifling a yawn, the schoolgirl finished eating as the rest of the group spoke of taking the day off again. Honestly, these people… No wonder they still haven't killed off this jackass known as Naraku. Finally, they decided to include her in the conversation. It was Kagome who asked her with whom she would like to spend the day with.

Suppressing a wide grin, Keiame went into acting mode. She clasped her hands together. "Oh, today, I would like to find a special herb. In order to do that, I need a really strong nose!" Inuyasha caught the implication and his expression turned sour. "It has a really peculiar scent. It's something my mom showed me a couple times. It would be nice to use."

"What a pain in my ass…" came the grumble. "I wanted to spar with Sango again."

"Wha-"

"Well, that's just too damn bad," Keiame interrupted Kagome. "Let's go find this thing." Inuyasha sighed heavily before standing up. The short haired girl stood up as well. The others watched them go until they were no longer seen. Then Kagome looked Sango's way. The demon slayer was too busy playing with her two-tailed demon cat. Finally, she spoke up.

"Sango, do you… want to go shopping with me?" Kagome asked.

"Sure. We are low on supplies."

"I'm going to collect chestnuts!" Shippo announced. Miroku stated that he would follow along.

With Inuyasha and Keiame, the two were leisurely walking along a path. Well, the schoolgirl was walking at a leisure pace. Inuyasha seemed to be very serious about finding this peculiar scented plant. He was a fool. How come he didn't realize that the herb-seeking was just a ploy? What she had planned on doing, the others couldn't know, least she would end of getting an earful. Inuyasha squatted down, sniffing at the ground. Keiame mentally sighed, getting fed up with the ruse. She looked around. She didn't see the others around. Good.

The schoolgirl turned her back to Inuyasha and squatted down as well. She parted the long grass and smirked upon finding the item she had hid yesterday night. Despite being a princess in disguise, that Oboro demon was _loaded_. Valuables and medicinal things weren't the only thing she found in that castle. The others had been waiting outside when she had found the items, so they hadn't known. As she stood, Keiame grabbed the hidden item. She turned to see that Inuyasha was still sniffing and looking around.

"Inuyasha!"

"Don't bother me! I'm still looking!"

The girl's eyebrow twitched at his response. Unceremoniously, Keiame walked over to the squatting demon and kicked his rear end. This, of course, caused him to land face first in the grass he had been searching. It only took a few seconds for this all to sink in. Inuyasha stood up and whirled around, obviously pissed. "Why the fuck did you do that?!" he shouted. Keiame stared back at him with a flat expression, and then told him that she was modifying her version of 'sit boy.' "You stupid little—hey, what's that?" The half demon had just noticed the small bucket, which had a lid, in Keiame's hand. He squinted, reading the characters. "Why do you have Ayakashi Sake?"

"_Obviously_ to drink it, Inuyasha. Don't be a dumbass, even though I know it's hard for you," Keiame retorted. Before the half demon could lash out at her, the schoolgirl continued. "Have some with me."

"What? Why? I'm not interested in things like this."

"Well, I don't want to drink it by myself. The others wouldn't allow it, and Miroku's an ass that I don't want to get drunk next to," Keiame explained. "You're my only option. Since you're half demon, you won't be affected as much, and you can watch my back."

"Your logic is as twisted as you are," Inuyasha commented. Keiame only grinned. "But no, I'll just watch."

"Come on! It's not fun, drinking alone!"

"How do you know if you've never done it before?"

"Hey, I've seen it on movies! It's depressing!"

"… The hell is a movie?"

"That's not the _effin_' point! Just drink with me, damn it!"

"Fine, give it here," Inuyasha muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Probably won't do anything to me anyway."

Oh, how wrong he was.

0~0


End file.
